Managing grain bin safety

The Illinois Department of Agriculture along with the State Fire Marshal are urging farmers to recognize Grain Bin Safety Week.

The U.S. had a five-year average of 58 agricultural confined space related injury and fatality cases documented, according to Purdue University’s 2019 summary of U.S. agricultural confined space related injuries and fatalities report. In 2019, there were 67 U.S. ACSRIF cases documented as opposed to 61 in 2018.

Illinois contributed four ACSRIF documented cases in 2019 and five in 2018.

Farm workers should attend required safety training as a reminder to utilize the best practices while working in and around grain bins. In addition to the required training, there are several online training resources available.

The Grain and Feed Association of Illinois: www.gfai.org.

The Grain Handling and Safety Council at: www.grainsafety.org.

University of Illinois Extension at: https://web.extension.illinois/edu/agsafety/equipment/grainbinsafety.cfm.