A 2019 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked farming and ranching as the 7th most dangerous occupation in the U.S.
There were 257 fatal injuries and 280 non-fatal injuries reported last year// for farm and ag workers. Good Day’s Work is trying to reduce those numbers by providing a resource to train employees beyond meeting OSHA requirements to build a culture of safety on the farm.
According to safety director Marty Huseman, it was difficult to find training relative to agriculture. Good Day’s Work set out to create more than 30 different types of real-life scenarios on actual farms to talk about all aspects of safety, and that includes grain bin safety.
“We have a class for that—it gets people to think through what they’re doing,” he said. “We don’t want to see people working alone. That’s the number one mistake. We’d really like to see employees be taught how to put on a harness and hot to be tied off anytime they enter a grain bin.”
Huseman says that farmers should never enter a bin with moving grain, and there should be a lock-out tag-out system in place on the farm as well. Air quality is also important when it comes to grain bin safety.
“If there’s molds or something growing in the bin, it can deplete the amount of oxygen,” he said. “We need about 19.5 percent oxygen, and to really know that, we need to have a gas monitor. Those probably aren’t on many farms, but they should be.”
Aside from harnesses and a gas monitor, Huseman says another tool you should have with you is ear protection, especially when you’re around during the drying process.
“Anything over 85 decibels is potentially damaging,” said Huseman. “We think we’re just going to that in little spurts that should be ok, but hearing loss is cumulative. If we know those things how, it doesn’t take much to put in some ear plugs. The little things we do in our younger years so we don’t pay the price when we get older.”
To learn about how Good Day’s Work and providing video training for your operation, visit gooddayswork.ag.
