COLLEGE CORNER, Ohio — In a study of 1,700 accidents in agricultural confined spaces (silos, grain bins, manure pits and the like) approximately one in five involved young people under the age of 21.

So William Field, Purdue University professor of agricultural and biological engineering, developed a program to address that situation.

Field presented his grain safety training program for ages 14-20 at Harvest Land Co-op. Allison Bolser from Union County High School said she attended because she “needed to learn about grain safety if I am going to follow my dad in farming.”

Monica Wehr, Connersville High School, agreed. “I want to learn more about grain safety because I plan to continue farming after high school. Anything I can learn about safety that you can save lives is well worth it.”

“The focus is on young and beginning workers who are interested in working in the grain industry,” Field explained. “We are doing a three-hour presentation based upon what they should know before they go to work either at their family operation or a commercial operation. Our goal is to reach out to those kids that may have never been exposed to any training with respect to working around grain.”

He talked about what constitutes a confined agricultural space, dangerous gases, the potential for entrapment and suffocation. He explained Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules. Those rules give young workers the right to say no – without repercussions or being penalized – to doing things that they feel uncomfortable with, or feel they are unsafe to do, he said.

If workers are asked to do something that it appears to them they are not trained to do, they have a right to refuse to do that job. They are free from being docked wages or any other penalties, Field explained. They can call and report those situations to OSHA.

“We had a case not too long ago where a young worker on his first day at work was asked to help clean a bin, and he died,” Field said. “We had several others who died during their first week. That implies to us that employers are not fulfilling their responsibility, which I think is intuitive.”

David Norris, manager at Harvest Land Co-op, said it sponsored the program because, “It is a good way for us to be able to give back to the youth in our community and maybe help to prevent some farm accidents down the road.”

Ryan Toms of C323 Ag Design & Construction said it has many safety procedures to follow in the field for OSHA standards. It helped sponsor the program because high school students are potential employees for the business and it is good to have safety instilled in these people at an early age. Also, many customers balk at spending the extra money necessary to keep themselves safe.

Kari Roberts, Union County High School agricultural educator and Liberty FFA advisor, and her dad, Russell Beckner of the Southwest Ohio Farm Safety for Just Kids (FS4JK) Chapter, organized the program, working with Dianne Dudley at Harvest Land. The co-op, Liberty FFA Chapter (Ind.), C323, Zimmer Tractor, Butler County Farm Bureau and the FS4JK chapter cosponsored the program.

“We had approximately 30 people attend ranging from the age 9 to (maybe) 60s,” Roberts said. “It was a great workshop, where he not only touched on grain facilities but other dangerous spots that we don’t always think about.”