When engulfed in grain, a person has about two minutes to survive, an engineer and agricultural safety consultant says, calling it a “very gruesome death.” Carol Jones, a consultant in Stillwater, Okla., and agricultural engineering emeritus professor at Oklahoma State University spoke about grain storage safety Aug. 11 during the Idaho Wheat Commission’s “From the Field” webinar. A farmer standing in grain up to the knees won’t be able to pull himself out without a rope or assistance, she said. “And they’re not going to be able to just pull you out directly,” she said. “If you’re to your waist, it’s going to take about 800 pounds to pull you directly out. Grain just puts that much force on the human body. If you’re up to your shoulders, it’s going to take up to 1,600 pounds to pull you out.” The average rescue takes four hours and 100 people, Jones said. About 60 grain storage entrapments or engulfments occur each year in the U.S., Jones said. About half of them result in death.
Watch, listen, or share the August 11 From the Field on this important topic here and keep yourself, your family, and your employees safe on the farm.