In 2023, Michigan saw 447 work-related farm injuries and 21 fatalities, according to reports by the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Division at Michigan State University.
“There's opportunities on a farm everywhere it seems like to have something maim or kill or bruise or pierce you.”
Charles Gould is a bio-energy educator with MSU Extension, which is partnering with state agencies training farmers and first responders about a significant danger: grain bin engulfment and its specific risks in rescue efforts.
“Grain bins are circular, and you just can't start cutting on a grain bin otherwise you do damage to the structure, and you also potentially can make things worse inside the grain bin for the person who is trapped.”
There can also be gas pockets in the bin that pose dangers, and operational issues.
“When an auger that's in the floor of a grain bin turns on, the grain shifts and if you're in that situation and the grain shifts, I mean, it's just like seconds and you're your toast.”
Gould says trainers will trailer in a bin full of grain and simulate rescue scenarios.
“He will actually engulf someone, not over the head, of course, but to a point where they cannot escape. It allows him to bring two to three first responders up into this kind of deck area everybody can watch and see. He'll guide them through the steps of extricating someone who is trapped in a grain bin.”
Training begins Wednesday, June 25 at the Berlin Fairgrounds with sessions for both farmers and first-responders.
Other training dates and locations are listed on the MSU Extension website.
The Grain Bin Rescue Training is sponsored by Michigan State University Extension, Michigan Farm Bureau, Michigan State University Occupational & Environmental Medicine, and the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan.
