![]() ![]() It most frequently occurs in grain bins and other storage facilities such as silos or grain elevators, or in grain transportation vehicles, but has also been known to occur around any large quantity of grain, even freestanding piles outdoors. Grain entrapment, or grain engulfment, occurs when a person becomes submerged in grain and cannot get out without assistance. Occupational Safety and Health Administration illustration of grain entrapment If you need assistance developing a preharvest safety checklist, your local Extension Office can help put one together.Being submerged in grain, with possibly fatal consequences U.S. A safety checklist should be in place for any silo on the farm, whether horizontal or vertical. Improper repairs or ignoring the problem will be costly, if not fatal in the end. ![]() It is important to seek professional opinions about a silo structure that may need repairs. Correctly sized silos = incorrect sized silo Upright silo walls and roof are in good toĮxcellent condition – repairs made if needed.ĩ. Upright silo is standing in vertical positionĨ. Or old feed – which could cause malfunction or fire.ħ. All mechanical parts are free from debris All mechanical parts in good to great working order.Ħ. Dirt side walls or floor showing considerable damage from tractors or weather –ĥ. Uneven floor pad - Places where water orĤ. The Corn Belt of the United States over the last few years has seen several fatal accidents that occurred as a result of upright silos failing and either exploding or collapsing.Ī good start to a checklist for any type of silo could include the following:ģ. The bolts and nuts that hold the hoops in place and the concrete slab or walls the silo might be sitting on or made out of can cause an entire upright silo to collapse if not properly secure. It is best to make a checklist of every part to be inspected-right down to the smallest one. There are unloader suspensions and cables, silo chutes, doors, fill pipes, hydraulic lifts, ladders, cages, roofs, hoops, and the walls of the upright itself to inspect. Maintenance and preharvest inspection on an upright silo is more involved because they have lots of moving parts that need to be inspected along with the structure itself. Additionally, the dirt walls of these silos are never smooth which allows for air pockets, seepage, standing water, and a number of other problems that can lead to poor quality feed and management issues.Īnother type of silo that is often used is the upright silo. These trench silos with dirt walls and floors deteriorate over time, due to weather and use. (A trench silo should be lined if it becomes a permanent structure.) These structures with open dirt floors and side walls need considerably more maintenance and work than a typical concrete silo. Many dairy farms throughout Virginia also use trench silos-an unlined horizontal silo- typically with dirt sides.Cracked concrete or pavement, or rutted floors = allows for air pockets, pooling of water or spoiled seepage, and loss in tractor or truck traction.Cracked sidewalls = Leaky silos allowing for more air ingress, leading to more problems with heating and spoilage resulting in feed loss, or structural failure during packing or after which can cause serious injury or death.Some key areas to look for damage on horizontal concrete bunker silos: ![]() Removal of all old feed will allow the inside surfaces to be examined along with the outside. Silage can produce acids that will over time erode concrete or unprotected metal and lead to severe silo deterioration. If a considerable amount of feed is still in the silo it will be hard to assess the structure. "The Corn Belt of the United States over the last few years has seen several fatal accidents that occurred as a result of upright silos failing and either exploding or collapsing." ![]()
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