Every year at harvesttime you hear a news report of someone getting trapped in a bin of flowing grain. Sometimes they can't be rescued in time and drown in the grain. Safety officials have kept track of grain bin entrapments since 1978. There have been more than 800 documented entrapments that resulted in farmer injury or death since 1978 in the U.S. and the number of overall incidents of entrapments continues to rise.

Related: Grain entrapment deaths a record in 2014

DEATH IN A BIN: Grain bin entrapments are caused by a number of reasons, and result in deaths of several farmers every year in Iowa and surrounding states. Statistics show 70% of entrapments occur on farms rather than in commercial elevators.

However, rates of survival are on the rise as well, says Charles Schwab, an ag engineer and farm safety specialist for Iowa State University Extension. From 1964 to 2005, 74% of grain bin entrapments resulted in death. By 2009 this number had dropped to 42%. In order to keep this number dropping, Schwab offers these three tips to keep farmers safe this fall:

1) Don't go in a bin, wagon or semi-truck when the grain is flowing. Schwab says this single precaution, if people follow it, would prevent nearly 70% of all entrapments.

2) Know what's going on with the bin before entering. Before entering a bin (while grain is not flowing) you should find out if grain has been unloaded from the bin. If some grain has been pulled out and there isn't a clearly visible inverted cone toward the center, that means the grain is bridged and unsafe to walk on. In addition to an inverted cone, another sign to look for is a shiny wall. When grain moves down in a bin it leaves the wall shinier than the dust covered walls above the grain line.

Confined spaces are hazardous for farmers

If a grain surface appears unstable or inconsistent with farmer knowledge of the bin and what's been going on with the grain, always take precautions. That includes making sure everyone working in and around the bin is aware of the hazards that lurk.

3) Follow safety precautions. If a bin needs to be entered, always have a second person monitoring the situation. All equipment should be locked out, the electricity disconnected or equipment prevented from being turned on, before you enter a bin. Unloading augers or other equipment should be disabled.

Grain bin entrapments are more likely to happen in on-farm bins rather than commercial storage. Statistics show 70% of all entrapments, occur on farms. Schwab believes this is because commercial elevators are very regimented in safety training and in their process of handling and working with grain. They have regular trainings and employees specialize in grain bin functions and keep an eye on what's happening with grain going in and out of bins. Farmers, especially if working by themselves or only one or two helpers, are too busy to do everything.

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Safety experts believe this problem will only get worse
Farmers have increased storage needs and more bins are built every year on farms across the nation. More storage will be necessary due to more specialty crops requiring identity preservation being planted. Farmers are changing the mix of different kinds of crops they grow. Trucks and larger hauling equipment allow for longer transportation distances for grain.

Related: Grain bin entrapment simulator goes mobile

Farmers also build more bins on the farm because they want to avoid and reduce the harvest bottlenecks at local elevators. More farmers want to improve grain quality and store it and manage it on the farm. So, with more specific storage needs and a greater volume of grain produced, that means more storage will be built on farms. With more bins there will likely be an increase in accidents involving bins. But it doesn't have to be that way if everyone is more careful.

Confined spaces are hazardous for farmers
Farmers are exposed to various types of confined-space hazards during normal working conditions. However, it is possible to avoid being injured if proper steps are taken. During National Farm Safety and Health Week, which was Sept. 20-26, 2015, ag engineering experts at ISU Extension suggested farmers plan ahead for hazardous situations that may occur in confined spaces.

Agricultural confined spaces can include manure pits, milk tanks, silage bunkers and grain bins. The definition of a confined space is one or more of three fundamental characteristics: it is not designed for regular occupancy by people, it has a limited entryway and/or exit, or it contains a hazardous material or atmosphere.

During harvesttime, farm safety concerns focus on grain bins, transport vehicles and other grain storage structures. Grain bins are not designed for human occupancy and they typically have limited entry and exit points. However, the real danger in a grain bin is the physical hazard for humans of being entrapped in grain.

Grain entrapments can happen quickly
To ensure an even flow of grain from the bin or wagon through a small opening at the unloading gate, workers will walk on top of the flowing grain and become trapped within seconds. "Grain is like quicksand," warns Schwab. "And the more you struggle, the deeper you are pulled downward."

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Even when the grain has stopped flowing, Schwab says it is difficult to rescue a submerged victim. "For instance, if someone is buried up to their chest in corn, even victims with great upper-body strength would still be unable to pull themselves out. Grain has a tremendous force of friction that most people don't understand unless they've experienced it," he notes.

Related: These folks get prepared for grain bin disasters

A common misconception is that people can climb up and out once they are sucked down into the grain, says Schwab. However, the strength required to lift a 165-pound person out of shoulder-deep grain is more than most people can handle: about 625 pounds of force is needed to pull someone out of the grain. As a person sinks deeper, the grain exerts friction and pressure, requiring easily up to 2,000 pounds of force to raise an adult.

Always follow standard procedures when working with grain
Schwab says the key is to avoid the hazard by following standard operating procedures when handling, transporting and storing grain: 1) Always lock all access doors to grain storage structures; 2) Never allow anyone to play or ride on grain wagons or be in the grain work area; 3) Lock out power to all types of grain-handling equipment when entering storage bins; notify a second person of where you are at all times when loading or unloading grain.

"With the variable weather this summer and leftover quality issues from last year's harvest, expect inconsistent grain quality this fall," says Gretchen Mosher, ISU assistant professor in ag and biosystems engineering. "Historically, quality issues in grain lead to higher incidents of grain entrapments, both on farm and at the grain elevator. While good-quality grain can engulf a person just as quickly as poor-quality grain, when we manage grain quality adequately, there is less reason to enter a confined space grain bin."

The goal is to make farms a safer place to live and work. "Now is the time to share the concern and understand the danger of grain entrapment hazards," says Schwab. More information about agricultural confined spaces is available at nasdonline.org.