Grain Bin Safety Week

Grain Bin Safety Week

Maura Bennett
Maura Bennett

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has designated this week Grain Bin Safety Week.

As part of the announcement Perdue sat down with the Governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, to talk about the importance of grain bin safety on the farm. Governor Noem grew up on a farm in Hamlin County, South Dakota where her father was tragically killed after climbing into a bin to loosen stuck grain.

The USDA says it hopes to use this week to promote education and awareness of hazards and safe work practices in an effort to reduce the number of accidents associated with grain handling and storage. In 2018, there were 30 documented grain entrapment cases with half of those entrapped resulting in a fatality. With the number of accidents increasing, it says it must intensify efforts to educate farmers.

Grains bin deaths are increasing. Tragically as this report was being written authorities in Elkton, South Dakota announced a 27-year-old man has died this week in a grain bin accident.

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