About

This website provides valuable insights into the grain handling and storage industry, recognized for its high hazards and life-threatening risks. From grain dust explosions to entrapments and falls, workers face various dangers. Grain entrapments, constituting half of documented incidents, remain a significant concern, with an average of 33 incidents annually since 2007. Despite industry efforts and substantial investments in safety measures and training programs, challenges persist in understanding safe and cost-effective methods for removing out-of-condition grain. Our focus is to summarize existing strategies used by farmers and industry workers to address this issue and assess associated risks.

Summarize Existing Strategies

Review and list existing practices to remove out-of-condition grain without entering the bin. This includes solutions that involve altering the grain bin (adding equipment, enlarging sump, etc) and strategies to break clumps while still outside of the grain bin.

Training Materials

Provide training materials on strategies to remove out of condition grain. This includes a delve into the research of grain entrapment and why are they considered hazardous. We also provide recommendations on where to obtain training for grain handling and agricultural confined spaces.

Publications

Provide our latest research articles on strategies to handle out-of-condition grain, hazards associated with grain entrapments, and statistics on grain entrapments.

This work is supported by the Critical Agriculture Research & Extension Grant, project [grant no. 2021-68008-34107 / project accession no. 1025155], from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.