Safety Expert in General Industry & Agribusiness

Agriculture Issues

While many safety issues and regulations are applicable to various industries and situations, there are a few that are unique to agribusiness.

Grain Bin Engulfment: Fatalities occur in these grain storage bins or silos every year when workers become engulfed in the grain. Workers lose limbs due to failure to lockout equipment such as a floor auger or sweep auger.

Grain Augers and Ground Pile Grain Belts: During harvest, when the grain elevators fill up quickly, this equipment piles the grain into large mounds. Workers lose body parts due to failure to lockout equipment or guard the equipment with a machine guard.

Agricultural Equipment Operations: This can be tractors, skid-steers, front-end loaders, tillage equipment, feed trucks for feeding cattle, silage choppers, silage baggers, and grain baggers. Many deaths and amputations involving agricultural equipment operations can be traced back to lack of training and lack of machine guarding.

Lockout/Tagout: While this process is key in many industries, agricultural equipment is responsible for multiple amputations every year due to failure to lockout/tagout equipment and machinery. See Importance of Lockout.

Grain Railcar Handling: Loading railcars at the grain elevator or feed mill has led workers to fall off the railcar resulting in death or disability.

EPA Worker Protection Standard: Workers must have training on chemicals they spray in fields or on food. This can easily become overlooked on large farms and agribusinesses.