Field specialist gives tips about grain bin safety
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- With harvest season upon us, residents in Northwest Missouri might frequently see big, silver units while driving down the highway.
Grain bins are used to store grains, corn, soybeans and wheat. At the center of a grain bin is a hole through which the grain goes.
Wayne Flanary, a field specialist in Agronomy with MU Extension, said farmers may be in a hurry during harvest season, but it’s important to still be safe.
“So one of the dangers during this period of time is everybody's in such a hurry, so we need to be very safe about how we go about putting the grain into the grain bin and removing it or taking it to market,” he said.
Flanary expressed that the most important tip to be safe around grain bins is to make sure no children are around.
“Kids are curious, and sometimes a tragedy occurs whenever a child accidentally wanders into the grain as it's being filled into the grain bin or whenever grain is being pulled out," said Flanary.
According to a Purdue University study, the 34 fatal and non-fatal grain entrapment cases documented in 2024 represented a 25.9% increase from the 27 recorded in 2023 and were slightly above the 5-year average (33.2 cases/year).
The long-term average has remained largely unchanged over the past decade, showing a slight increase in frequency.
Another tip Flaneary gives to farmers is to make sure all equipment is shut down and to have two people present during operations for effective communication.
“You need to have a person on the outside and to be able to communicate carefully because there's been situations where someone heard something and thought that they said, 'Okay, turn the equipment on, no wrong thing,' and then somebody gets hurt," said Flanary.
The last tip, Flanary gives about grain bins, is to never get near an auger.
“Always be careful," Flanary said. "Electric motors that things like your clothing doesn't get caught into those and pull you into the equipment. The equipment is much stronger than what you are and it can happen so fast you don't have time to get away from it."
