Week focuses on grain bin safety

This is Grain Bin Safety Week and the Illinois Department of Agriculture has some reminders for farmers.

If you absolutely have to go inside a grain bin, officials recommend making sure everything is turned off and locked and that a harness is used. Ladders should be installed inside bins wherever possible for an emergency exit. Farmers should make sure at least one other person is around when working near the grain bin and to stay outside if at all possible.

Researchers at Purdue University indicate there have been more than 900 cases of grain engulfment during the past 50 years, killing 62 percent of the victims. This is why it is so important to be careful, according to Illinois Department of Agriculture’s Joe Small.