My younger brother Brayden is always our go-to man on the farm for squeezing into tight spaces and doing some of the jobs that are less than desirable. He is tall and lanky — a string bean, if you will — which has made him the obvious choice for many of these jobs.
I’ve come to find that this thought process of selecting the tall, skinny guys to tackle some of those more difficult jobs is widespread. I had friends at Purdue who fit that description and would head out in the fall to assist farmers with harvest work. Other folks have told me that they specifically pick those guys to squeeze into tight spaces — “They’re young and agile, so they can handle it.”
Bill Field, a Purdue Extension farm safety specialist, recognizes that this is a common theme. He also shares that it can pose some risks.
“We’ve had catastrophic injuries, especially with young guys, cleaning out bins,” Field says. “They pick the young, skinny guys to go in the bin because it’s easier for them to climb into them.”
Take precautions
Field says that these young guys are often just high school kids with no or little experience. This means they may not fully understand the dangers of grain bins. That gap in safety knowledge can be a recipe for disaster. Field shares three separate cases where the hired help was injured in the grain bin, and in all three cases, those workers were younger than 20.
Those young men probably had no idea what potential dangers surrounded them when they entered the grain bins. My dad always warned my siblings and me of all the things that could go wrong around the farm, and he avoided putting us in inherently dangerous situations altogether.
But without proper training, these young men who are trying to make some extra cash in the fall may have no idea what risks are present when they enter a grain bin.
The responsibility to educate those workers falls on the farmers who hire the young men. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with hiring agile high school and college students, but make sure you take the time to properly train them and avoid situations that will put them in harm’s way.
If those men, or anyone, must enter the grain bin, Field advises shutting off the sweep auger and keeping guards on the wells.
“All those openings should be guarded, so you can’t put a foot in there,” Field adds. These precautions can cut back on some of the dangers that grain bins pose.
The best precaution to take is to never assume that these seasonal helpers know what they are doing. Even if they come from an agricultural background, they may need a refresher on safety measures and potential dangers.
You may be tempted to pick the young, tall and skinny men to help on your farm during harvest and throughout the year, and there is nothing wrong with that. But it is on you to make sure you provide them with the proper training and ensure they make it home safe every night.
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