Engulfment Hazards With Stored Grain

OMAHA (DTN) -- While there are several safety procedures that those who work with grain bins should abide by the most obvious one is to never get into a bin in the first place. A confined space accident can't happen if no one is in a grain bin.

If entering a bin is necessary, safety equipment can help keep the worker safe. In addition, newer technology is available to help keep grain in good condition as spoiled stored grain often leads to grain engulfment.

CONFINED SPACES ARE DANGEROUS

National Farm Safety and Health Week was Sept. 21-27, 2025. The National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS) based in Peosta, Iowa, had a series of webinars, including one titled "Confined Spaces in Agriculture."

Dan Neenan, director of NECAS, said a confined space is one that is large enough someone can enter and perform work in it. However, it is not designed for continuous human occupancy.

"Any part of the body that breaks the plane is entering this space," Neenan said.

Confined spaces in agriculture are often thought of as grain bins but also can include livestock facilities, specifically manure handling and holding structures.

As one might assume there are many potential hazards in confined spaces. These include oxygen deficient, oxygen enrichment, flammable, toxic materials, electricity, mechanical hazards, temperature extremes and engulfment.

GRAIN ENGULFMENTS KILLS

In another webinar last week titled "Prioritize Grain Bin Safety This Harvest," sponsored by the Illinois Soybean Growers, Ryan Thompson, strategic account manager with grain bin manufacturer AGI, discussed grain bin safety. He said there are three main types of grain engulfment with stored grain.

The first would be from flowing grain. Often this engulfment happens when someone is standing in grain as it is being unloaded from the bin, he said.

The second would be bridged or cliffed grain. Grain that is out of condition (with too much moisture) forms a bridge as it is being removed from the bin and someone could fall through the grain and become engulfed.

The third type of grain engulfment would be from an avalanche or collapsing grain along the sidewall of bins. Once again, grain out of condition forms a wall within the bin and the person who tries to knock it down gets overwhelmed by the flowing grain, he said.

"With flowing grain, you have two to three seconds to react and by four to five seconds you are partially trapped," Thompson said. "By 11 seconds you are completely engulfed."

Neenan said it will take tremendous strength to physically pull someone out of flowing grain. A 165-pound person buried up to their waist will take 325 pounds of force to be pulled from the grain, he said.

That is why in grain engulfment rescues, the person is not pulled from the grain, but rather a grain tube is placed around the engulfed person to keep the grain away from them and then the grain is slowly moved away from the person until they are free from the grain, he said.

The average bin rescue is typically around three hours as first responders work to move the grain away from the person slowly to keep more grain from further engulfing the trapped person, he said.

FOLLOW BASIC GRAIN BIN SAFETY

Thompson said some basic safety measures should be followed to prevent grain engulfment.

Always make sure others know you are checking grain bins. Only enter a grain-filled bin if absolutely necessary. If you do enter a bin, wear a five-point harness, have two spotters (one at the top of the bin and one on the ground) and do not have the unloading auger running while you are in the bin.

When working around bins, utilize lock out/tag out practices. This needs to be done on electrical components but also could be done on ladders, stairs and even bin doors.

Thompson said out of condition or spoiled grain could influence grain bin safety. Often this situation leads to bridging or avalanche of grain when it is removed from the bin. If the grain could be monitored closer and kept in better condition, this would help with safety, he said.

Grain conditioning would be the removing or adding of moisture to stored grain. It can also be the cooling or rewarming of stored grain.

Thompson said technology is available to farmers for them to monitor their bin more closely from their smartphones, tablets or computers. Products are now available to read the temperature and moisture of bins, automatic fan control and temperature and humidity communication are also available.

"Improve grain conditioning through using this technology and automation," Thompson said.

Russ Quinn can be reached at Russ.Quinn@dtn.com

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