How to save someone from drowning in a grain bin

Feb 21, 2024

The amount of force required to pull someone from a grain bin is underestimated.

While at the 2024 National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville Kentucky, Farms.com spoke with Dale Dobson, Safety Administrator with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture about grain bin safety.

This week is Grain Bin Safety Week, a week dedicated to promoting a zero-entry mentality in grain bins and providing life-saving resources.

Engulfment in grain bins can happen incredibly fast, and once they have fallen in, farmers are at risk of being submerged within seconds. The rate of such grain bin mishaps has risen 45% since 2021, emphasizing the need for preparedness.

Grain Bin Safety Week not only raises awareness of the hazards associated with grain bins but also equips those on the front lines with the capabilities to respond swiftly and effectively, marking significant strides towards enhancing safety in the agricultural sector.

Grain bin accidents are preventable. Dobson said the first rule when entering a grain bin, is let someone know you are going into the bin.

The next most important step is to wear a harness, or to be roped off and tied off before entering the bin. “Get a safety harness,” pleads Dobson. “It is less than $200, you can get them many places including on Amazon or from Fastenal.”

But if someone does fall into the bin, Dobson showed the Farms.com team how the “Great Wall Tube” or a turtle plastic tube can save lives. “It’s like a parachute, somebody caught in the grain you climb, bend, pop it out, we get it started around them, the person can start breathing again,” Dobson explained. Because when a person is trapped in a grain bin, the grain is crushing or rupturing their internal organs, such as spleen, liver, kidneys.

Dobson explained that when a farmer falls into a bin, bystanders often don’t call 911 immediately because they are embarrassed. Instead, they go into the bin to try to pull the person out themselves, and then they fall into the bin as well.

What they do not understand is the amount of force that is required to pull someone out that is drowning in a grain bin. As would-be rescuers are trying to pull the victim up, the grain is forcing them down, and now the would-be rescuer’s weight is added to the equation, “So as we're pulling up, we're forcing down and we hurt them (the victim).”

Pounds of force chart for saving a grain bin drowning victim

The first step in rescuing someone is to put something to separate them from the crushing grain, something like the “Great Wall Tube” or the turtle plastic tube – or whatever you have that is handy.

But before you help others, you must ensure you are tied off.

“Like I said, we got some of the best farmers in the world, we got some of the best rescuers in the world, and I'm proud to be walking on both sides of that street,” concluded Dobson.

To learn more about Grain Bin Safety, please visit GrainBinSafetyWeek.com.

Watch this video about Grain Safety with Dale Dobson.

Video: The Investment Opportunities of Industrial Hemp

The fledgling U.S. hemp industry is decades behind countries like Canada, France and China, but according to impact investor and this week’s podcast guest, Pierre Berard, it could flourish into a $2.2 billion industry by 2030 and create thousands of jobs.

To reach its potential, what the hemp industry needs most right now, Berard said, is capital investment.

Last month, Berard published a report titled “Seeing the U.S. Industrial Hemp Opportunity — A Pioneering Venture for Investors and Corporations Driven by Environmental, Social and Financial Concerns” in which he lays out the case for investment.

It’s as if Berard, with this report, is waving a giant flag, trying to attract the eyes of investors, saying, “Look over here. Look at all this opportunity.”

Berard likens the burgeoning American hemp industry to a developing country.

“There is no capital. People don’t want to finance. This is too risky. And I was like, OK, this sounds like something for me,” he said.

As an impact investor who manages funds specializing in agro-processing companies, Berard now has his sights set on the U.S. hemp industry, which he believes has great economic value as well as social and environmental benefits.

He spent many years developing investment in the agriculture infrastructure of developing countries in Latin America and Africa, and said the hemp industry feels similar.

“It is very nascent and it is a very fragmented sector. You have pioneers and trailblazers inventing or reinventing the field after 80 years of prohibition,” he said. “So I feel very familiar with this context.”

On this week’s hemp podcast, Berard talks about the report and the opportunities available to investors in the feed, fiber and food sectors of the hemp industry.

Building an industry around an agricultural commodity takes time, he said. According to the report, “The soybean industry took about 50 years to become firmly established, from the first USDA imports in 1898 to the U.S. being the top worldwide producer in the 1950s.”

Berard has a plan to accelerate the growth of the hemp industry and sees a four-pillar approach to attract investment.

First, he said, the foundation of the industry is the relationship between farmers and processors at the local level.

Second, he said the industry needs what he calls a “federating body” that will represent it, foster markets and innovations, and reduce risk for its members and investors.

The third pillar is “collaboration with corporations that aim to secure or diversify their supply chains with sustainable products and enhance their ESG credentials. This will be key to funding the industry and creating markets,” he said.

The fourth pillar is investment. Lots of it. Over $1.6 billion over seven years. This money will come from government, corporations, individual investors, and philanthropic donors.

The 75-page report goes into detail about the hemp industry, its environmental and social impact, and the opportunities available to investors.

Read the report here: Seeing the U.S. Industrial Hemp Opportunity

Also on this episode, we check in with hemp and bison farmer Herb Grove from Brush Mountain Bison in Centre County, PA, where he grew 50 acres of hemp grain. We’ll hear about harvest and dry down and crushing the seed for oil and cake.