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Veterinarian dies in silage pile collapse at SW Michigan farm
 

By STAN MADDUX

HARTFORD, Mich. — A farm safety expert says nobody should be allowed to be at the bottom of large outdoor silage piles without overhead protections, following the death of a dairy veterinarian from an avalanche of the feed.

Dr. John Cummings, 35, was at the base of a 30- to 50-foot-high outdoor silage pile taking samples for testing when a portion of the mound collapsed on him at Red Arrow dairy farm in southwestern Michigan.

The Nov. 30 accident happened at about 6:30 a.m. south of Hartford. Doug Walker, a detective with the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office, said Cummings was alone when a farm worker left to take silage drawn from the same pile to feed the cows.

He said the collapse occurred sometime prior to the worker returning 20 minutes later. “It looked like an avalanche came down on one small section,” Walker said.

Cummings was pronounced dead from suffocation a short time later at Lakeland Hospital in Watervliet, police said. The Michigan branch of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating. Walker said there were no signs of wrongdoing.

The accident was at a dairy farm belonging to Rudy DeYoung, the owner of multiple dairy operations in western Michigan. Cummings was subcontracted through Ag Business Solutions out of Grand Rapids to take samples of silage at DeYoung’s dairy operations for testing, to make sure the feed was up to standards, Walker said.

In a statement released by Ag Business Solutions, Cummings was described as a “very capable veterinarian.”

“The entire Ag Business family is deeply saddened and is looking into the cause of this unfortunate accident. We extend our prayers and heartfelt condolences to his family during this difficult time,” the company stated.

Bill Field, an agriculture safety expert from Purdue University, said outdoor storage of silage is safer than using silos for housing the feed, but there are still risks. He said silage made from corn, cornstalks and other plant material is compacted as it is piled, to force oxygen out of air pockets to prevent spoilage.

Field said accidents of this type are rare but silage, much like deep snow in the mountains, can break away from the edge and come down sometimes for no apparent reason. Anyone covered at the bottom is helpless to dig themselves out because of the weight of the material.

Causes include weakening at the top from a heavy equipment operator digging too deeply into the side of a pile, or bug infestation. He explained Cummings was most likely drawing samples from tubes inserted into the material at the time of the collapse.

Field said serious injury and death can also occur from workers at the top having silage beneath their feet collapse from getting too close to the edge of a pile.

He said storing silage outdoors began several decades ago because it’s less physically challenging and more cost-effective than filling up and later emptying silos. Indoor storage can also produce cave-ins, though, along with entanglement and falls during climbs up a tall silo.

“It’s just a cheaper approach and it probably has saved a bunch of lives,” Field said.

He said nobody should be allowed to work at the base of an outdoor silage pile without some type of overhead protection to stop material from burying someone during a collapse. He said silage piles on small farms are exempt from enforcement of OSHA safe workplace regulations, but feed mounds on larger operations must abide by the OSHA standards.

Cummings, known to friends and family as Garth, left behind a wife and two sons. His obituary described him as well-liked for his generosity, kindness, honesty and fairness. A native of Vermont, he completed graduate studies at Cornell University, then moved to Texas and recently relocated to the Grand Rapids area, where he practiced veterinary medicine for area dairies.

According to the Zaagman Memorial Chapel, a Garth Cummings Memorial Fund has been set up at Grand River Bank in Grand Rapids to benefit his sons’ education.

12/12/2018