As producers begin to hit the fields for the start of the 2024 planting season, it’s always a good idea to remind ourselves of the practices that keep farmers, their families, and their workers safe. National Grain Safety Week, which runs March 25-29 this year, is an industry wide initiative aimed at raising awareness of the preventable hazards that impact hundreds of farmers every year.
Unfortunately, farming is one of the deadliest and most hazardous professions in the world. Globally, agriculture ranks alongside construction and mining as the most dangerous industry. Nationally, 60 to 70 per 100,000 farmers are killed annually. Nonfatal injuries occur to about 33% of the farming population in the United States, with 3% of accidents resulting in a permanent disability.
Most farm accidents occur when grain is being moved or transported and someone enters a bin to walk down the moving grain or is buried by falling grain that was bridged to the walls and suddenly collapsed. Moving grain acts like quicksand and can bury a worker in seconds.
The eighth annual “”Stand Up 4 Grain Safety Week” is hosted by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) together with its partners in the ag industry. The week-long awareness campaign will provide employers and workers with educational opportunities, resources, and training on best safety practices.
Free virtual safety sessions begin at 10:00 a.m. CST each day, with a hybrid in-person and online kickoff event scheduled for today, March 25th. The kickoff will be livestreamed from the South Dakota Grain Bin Engulfment Prevention Summit and moderated by Terry Lively, Employer Services Safety & Compliance Manager of Marsh McLennan Agency, LLC in Mitchell, SD. Registrants will have free access to virtual training sessions during the rest of the week, with each day featuring a different focus and resources. More details about the presentations and registration instructions can be found HERE.
The virtual event schedule includes:
March 26: Building a Safety Culture with Brad Bousquet @ 10:00 am
March 27: Strains, Sprains, MSDs with Douglas Clark @ 10:00 am
March 28: Ladder Safety with Aaron Yoder @ 10:00 am
March 29: Heat & Extreme Temperatures with Casey Abel @ 10:00 am
