The Importance of Grain Safety
Mar 31, 2021
Everyone deserves to go home to their families at the end of the day. Hundreds of people die or are injured 
each year due to preventable hazards in grain storage and handling facilities. It is for each and every one of our employees and member-owners involved in the grain industry that we take part in Grain Safety Week.
In 2019, there were 14.65 billion bushels of stored corn and soybeans and 8,375 commercial grain storage facilities. While the number of fatalities are relatively small compared to the number of storage facilities, safety doesn’t need to be big to be effective.
There were 38 grain entrapments in the last year, resulting in a 26.7% increase from the year prior. While grain entrapments continue to exceed the number of other agricultural injuries, they aren’t the only grain handling hazards.
Other hazards can include suffocation from engulfment and entrapment in grain bins, falls resulting in crushing injuries, amputations from grain handling equipment, and fires and grain dust explosions.
“At MKC, we aren’t shy that safety is our number one key to success,” says Jeff Jones, vice president and director of eastern operations. “Because safety is MKC’s most important value, it is critical to our cooperative that our member-owners and employees have the necessary tools to be safe when in and around grain bins or grain storage facilities.”
To learn more about grain safety precautions, we encourage you to check out these free recourses:
To learn more about #StandUp4GrainSafety week, visit standup4grainsafety.org.
each year due to preventable hazards in grain storage and handling facilities. It is for each and every one of our employees and member-owners involved in the grain industry that we take part in Grain Safety Week.In 2019, there were 14.65 billion bushels of stored corn and soybeans and 8,375 commercial grain storage facilities. While the number of fatalities are relatively small compared to the number of storage facilities, safety doesn’t need to be big to be effective.
There were 38 grain entrapments in the last year, resulting in a 26.7% increase from the year prior. While grain entrapments continue to exceed the number of other agricultural injuries, they aren’t the only grain handling hazards.
Other hazards can include suffocation from engulfment and entrapment in grain bins, falls resulting in crushing injuries, amputations from grain handling equipment, and fires and grain dust explosions.
“At MKC, we aren’t shy that safety is our number one key to success,” says Jeff Jones, vice president and director of eastern operations. “Because safety is MKC’s most important value, it is critical to our cooperative that our member-owners and employees have the necessary tools to be safe when in and around grain bins or grain storage facilities.”
To learn more about grain safety precautions, we encourage you to check out these free recourses:
- NGFA Safety Tips: Preparing Bins For Harvest
- Bin Entry Safety video by NGFA: Bin Entry Safety
- OSHA Grain Handling Safety Overview: Grain Handling
To learn more about #StandUp4GrainSafety week, visit standup4grainsafety.org.