ASK THE AGRONOMIST BLOG

This year’s National Farm Safety and Health Week motto is “No One Can Take Your Place,” and they’re right; no one can replace you in the field, at the farm or in your home. Ranked as one of the most hazardous professions, farmers are at an increased risk for fatal and nonfatal farm injuries. Even family members are in jeopardy with their involvement in farm operations and living on or near the premises.

According to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2021, workers in the ag, forestry, fishing and hunting industries experienced fatal injury rates at 20 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers, compared to a rate of 3.6 deaths per 100,000 for all other industries. Farm safety is crucial to the livelihood of a farm operation and its operators. Follow these farm safety tips to ensure you, your employees and family are safe at the farm, in the field and on the road all year..

8 IMPORTANT FARM SAFETY TIPS

Think “F.A.R.M. S.A.F.E.”

Familiarize yourself with all equipment safety standards and the responsibilities of each worker on the farm. Ensure employees and family members are adequately trained and understand emergency procedures. A lack of experience or farm safety training can put anyone at risk of injury on the farm. Even if they don’t assist in day-to-day activities, farm safety for kids is equally important. 

Avoid wearing loose clothing around farm equipment as it can get caught and lead to falls or being pulled into augers. Moving parts can quickly snatch a loose sleeve or baggy shirt when you least expect it. Remember to wear protective equipment such as gloves, goggles and steel-toed boots to reduce farm injuries.

Read markings on every vehicle and their safety manuals. Heavy machinery is one of the most common causes of death in agriculture. Knowing how to properly operate machinery can prevent serious injury. Each piece of equipment should come with manufacturer recommendations for safety usage. ATV/UTV accidents are also on the rise, so understanding their intended use and weight capacity may stop one from rolling over or being hit on a roadway.

Maintain your equipment to ensure it’s running properly before you hit the field. Not only is it important to do this step for harvest but all year. Before you take your seat behind the wheel, walk around your equipment to check for loose parts, flat tires and more. With harvest bringing long hours in the field, check that all lights are operational so you can see and be seen.

Stock a first aid kit in your truck, tractor and barn. The National Education Center for Agricultural Safety has a first aid kit with farm injuries in mind you can purchase that includes trauma shears, large bandages, a thermal blanket, eye wash, ice packs, a CPR face shield and much more. If you have allergies, stock your first aid kit with supplies to remedy those symptoms.

Ask for help. Farming is stressful, and your emotional well-being is just as important as your physical health. If you or someone you know is in emotional distress, call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Follow instructions when handling chemicals. Read the material safety data sheets before using any chemicals so you know what to do in case an emergency occurs. You can take farm safety courses to learn best practices with the application or handling of these materials. Store chemicals in a locked area away from people and animals. 

Employ an effective lifeline system when working in and around grain bins. This includes wearing a harness and having a second person nearby, both of which can assist you in the unfortunate event you are trapped and engulfed in grain. Serious injuries related to grain bins can be reduced if farmers and their colleagues are properly trained and follow safety procedures.

Farm safety should be top of mind all year. Be aware of your surroundings, know your limits and have an emergency plan in place. Remember, NO ONE CAN TAKE YOUR PLACE. Visit the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety for more farm safety tips and training opportunities. 

Soil compaction is an issue many growers face each year, and it’s one that can greatly impact yields the following season. In fact, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach notes yield loss due to soil compaction caused by wheel traffic can range anywhere from 10% to 20%. What makes it even more problematic is that it can last for several years if not properly managed. It’s important for growers to do what they can this fall to prevent and mitigate the problem before next growing season.

Stine^® Seed Company agronomy experts urge growers to design their soil management and cropping practices to ensure the prevention of soil compaction.

“Compaction is a serious issue and can be affected by several factors, including heavy rain in a dry year or harvesting when the soil is too wet,” says Todd Schomburg, director of agronomy. “It’s critical for all growers to understand how severe these things can be for soil degradation."

Whether you still have fields left to complete or have wrapped up harvest, take note of these do’s and don’ts for preventing and managing soil compaction before winter hits. 

Do assess your fields before entering with harvest or tillage equipment. Soil compaction occurs when heavy equipment is operated in fields with wet soils. Fields with no stubble, heavy tillage and compromised soil structure are at an increased risk of compaction. Extension experts agree it’s best, when possible, to wait for drier conditions before hitting the field. A proper assessment of the soil can help determine if conditions are more conducive to soil compaction. Growers can use a soil probe or shovel to test the moisture conditions by pulling subsoil samples (a minimum of 12 inches below ground) and assessing them for excess moisture. While less accurate than other tests, it’s a quick way to note the soil’s appearance and feel to determine if compaction should be a concern. Iowa State Extension provides this table for estimating soil moisture with this method. That said, employing a penetrometer is perhaps the most effective method to determine accurate soil moisture.

Don’t rush to get a crop out or start tillage if wet soils persist. If you don’t take the time to assess your fields’ moisture level properly, you’re potentially putting them at high risk of compaction and, ultimately, yield loss. Factors that lead to yield loss from compaction include, but are not limited to, improper soil drainage, denitrification, and root growth issues. If you need to get into the fields, consider harvesting or tilling around areas where wet soil is an issue.

Do find a way to reroute field traffic. Find ways to redirect grain carts and other transport equipment to an edge of the field close to the exit to lessen the compaction caused by field traffic. If you must have the grain cart follow you throughout the field, have it take the same path as the combine to avoid additional tracks.  

Don’t ignore the manufacturer’s recommendations for tire size and pressure settings. Lowering inflation pressures following manufacturers’ recommendations and using wider tires help distribute the equipment’s weight more evenly. Experts from the University of Wisconsin-Extension also recommend attaching dual wheels, using machines with tracks or more uniform wheel spacing, and even reducing the load size out of the field.

Do take advantage of a dry fall to remediate compaction. Penn State Extension recommends “subsoiling” in a dry year. They note, “For maximum fracturing below the soil, use a subsoiler with large, winged points, or a paratill subsoiler with bent-leg shanks. After the subsoiling operation, prevent recompaction by managing your field operation to dry soil conditions, keeping axle loads, and contact pressure low.”

Don’t rely on tillage alone. Tillage should be considered on a case-by-case basis. Light tillage can help break up some compaction in the topsoil, and a deeper tillage may be necessary to break up the subsoil. That said, tillage shouldn’t be the only solution in your plan. Growers should also consider planting a cover crop in combination with tillage and employing the other best practices discussed in this article for a complete mix of tactics to help clear up compaction.

Do enlist the assistance of a local agronomist or field extension expert for guidance on best practices for avoiding compaction. Even if you’ve wrapped up harvest, they can advise you on how you can navigate compaction this fall through the next planting season.

To learn more best management practices for your soil this fall, contact your local Stine sales rep or regional sales agronomist.

For growers looking for the right time and price to sell corn this year, bin storage might be their best option to keep the grain safe and in good condition. But certain measures must be taken before, during and after unloading at the bin. Our experts shed light on a few timely steps to take before storing grain this fall.  

Step 1: Start clean. Earlier this fall, we reviewed tips to prep your grain bins for harvest. Our first recommendation was to clean your grain bins, augers and other grain-handling equipment to ensure they are free from old seed, traces of insects and mold. If you haven’t done so, be sure to safely remove old grain from bins or equipment. In bins, consider using a vacuum system, broom or even washing out the inside of the bin. We also recommended fumigating grain bins or applying an insecticide after cleaning to prevent pests or pathogens from infecting new grain. During this time, it’s also an important practice to check bins and equipment for any signs of wear and tear or cracks, gaps or leaks. Once all bins and equipment are clean and properly inspected, and any fumigation or insecticide treatments have been given the proper amount of time (based on label instructions) to settle, you’re ready to move on to the next steps.

Step 2: Consider the desired shelf life of the stored grain. It’s important to consider how long you intend to store the grain to understand the best management practices for keeping it safe in the bin. Growers need to take into account moisture levels of corn going into the bin and temperatures in the bin to determine what is called allowable storage time, or AST. View this chart provided by the South Dakota State University Extension that features allowable storage time for grains based on grain temperature and moisture content.

Step 3: Avoid storing wet corn when possible. Proper drying is critical for quality grain storage. Storing high-moisture corn can exacerbate or increase the incidence of molds and greatly affect grain quality. Consider a grain dryer to help get the seed to around a 16% moisture level or less for extended storage. If you must store wet corn, understand that it will have a much shorter shelf life in the bin as it is more prone to spoilage.

Step 4: Check the seed quality before unloading. Aside from moisture level, growers need to consider how other seed quality issues might impact their stored grain.

“It’s best practice to allow only your best quality seed in your bins,” says Tom Larson, Stine corn technical agronomist. “Lesser quality grain, such as smaller, immature kernels, will not have as long a shelf life in the bin. You also want to avoid storing grain that’s been visibly impacted by other environmental stressors such as drought, insect and disease pressure.”

Step 5: Keep it dry and cool in the bin. Maintaining the quality of your seed during storage is key to getting the best bang for your buck at the elevator. Experts at the South Dakota State University Extension say grain temperature is key to long-term storage. Their advice — keep it cool.

“Use fans to cool grain down to 20-30°F to store over winter. As long as grain is not stored at temps lower than 20°F, there is rarely need to run fans to ‘warm’ grain in the spring," says South Dakota State University Extension experts. 

Aeration in the bin is critical to achieving proper temperature levels and moisture content throughout storage. Ensure all aeration fans are in working order. Grain spreaders can also be used to help evenly distribute and help aerate corn in bins, as well as regular “coring” to ensure the grain in the center gets moving and doesn’t spoil during storage.

Step 6: Regularly check bins. It’s easy to let time get away from you in the winter months but frequently checking the quality of your grain in the bin should be a regular item on your checklist.

“The last thing you want to see in stored grain is crusting on the top,” says Larson. “This means you’re having moisture issues in the bin, which can greatly impact seed quality and yield when you’re ready to take it to the elevator. Frequent checking to ensure proper aeration and temperature levels remain consistent is a must when storing grain. It should never go overlooked.”

Step 7: Keep safety top of mind. This step is perhaps the most critical of all. There were no fewer than 29 grain storage and handling-related entrapments in 2021, and no fewer than 56 fatal and non-fatal cases involving agricultural confined spaces, according to a 2021 Summary of U.S. Agricultural Confined Space-Related Injuries and Fatalities report. Grain entrapment and engulfment are serious matters and happen too frequently. Check out our tips for staying safe in and around grain bins.

For more information on grain bin storage and safety, consult your local Stine sales representative or agronomist.