MONROE - Dr. Bill Fields came to Monroe with a message: The young and brash are the most likely to be injured or killed on the farm.
Fields, a professor from Purdue University in Indiana, was at the Monroe Fire Department Wednesday to teach farm safety to about 50 agriculture students from Monroe, Albany, Pecatonica, Juda and Monticello.
Fields cited a recent Purdue survey of accidents in Indiana that found there were about 1,700 grain bin accidents involving people who fell in or were buried in a grain bin. Of those, 97 percent were men and about 1,100 were between the ages of 1 and 20.
"Look, a lot of you young men are deficient," Fields said. "Deficient in good judgment and good looks, too."
MFD Deputy Chief Lane Heins said the department recently bought a grain rescue tube, used to extricate a person buried in grain, with a U.S. Department of Occupational Health and Safety grant and Fields grant. Fields, a nationally-recognized expert in farm and ag safety, came to train firefighters and students with the rescue tube.
"He was out here (Tuesday) night training our firefighters and cracking jokes," Heins said. "He's funny but he gets his point across."
Fields told a story about his neighbor who accidentally fell off a grain cart and cut open his abdomen. The neighbor refused to call an ambulance, and was crawling around when Fields found him.
"He was worried - anybody know what was more important to him than living?" Fields asked.
"He's got to milk," said a handful of students.
"That's right. But how many of you know a milker that's free to cover 80 head?" Fields asked.
The students nodded and several mumbled "none." Fields explained his neighbor couldn't return to farm for about six weeks due to his injury and he couldn't find someone to milk the cows. The neighbor had to ship the whole herd, besides the young of the year, out to a dairy farm many miles away.
"That pretty well ended that dairy operation," Fields said. "It was a rather sobering experience to see it all gone, truckload after truckload, for something as incidental as falling off a grain cart."
Fields then took the students out to the bay of Fire Station One near the Badger State Ethanol plant where a semi hopper was loaded with corn. Several students jumped in the corn and pumped their legs until they were covered up to their knees and firefighters could pull them out using the grain rescue tube.
Fields said the dangers in grain storage are compounded with the influence of technology in farming, coupled with a lack of awareness about the dangers of how to handle stored grain.
"The biggest statistic you need to remember is the single most important contributing factor to grain entrapment is out-of-condition grain," Fields said.
Grain that is stored for a long period of time can become dangerous to walk on. If water leaks into a silo and rots the grain, it molds together, making the pile less stable.
Fields warned that along with the added risk of long-term storage, the machismo culture students are brought up in emulating sports heroes who risk their lives in play is a backwards notion.
"We created this culture of risk-takers and we reward them," Fields said. "Guys out on the basketball court, put it all on the court - they don't care if they lose their teeth and we reward them by applauding."
Fields emphasized safety, but made it entertaining for the students with his wit and jokes.
"You know the phrase "live and learn,'" Fields said. "Well, that doesn't work for skydiving ... it's the same with grain safety."
Fields, a professor from Purdue University in Indiana, was at the Monroe Fire Department Wednesday to teach farm safety to about 50 agriculture students from Monroe, Albany, Pecatonica, Juda and Monticello.
Fields cited a recent Purdue survey of accidents in Indiana that found there were about 1,700 grain bin accidents involving people who fell in or were buried in a grain bin. Of those, 97 percent were men and about 1,100 were between the ages of 1 and 20.
"Look, a lot of you young men are deficient," Fields said. "Deficient in good judgment and good looks, too."
MFD Deputy Chief Lane Heins said the department recently bought a grain rescue tube, used to extricate a person buried in grain, with a U.S. Department of Occupational Health and Safety grant and Fields grant. Fields, a nationally-recognized expert in farm and ag safety, came to train firefighters and students with the rescue tube.
"He was out here (Tuesday) night training our firefighters and cracking jokes," Heins said. "He's funny but he gets his point across."
Fields told a story about his neighbor who accidentally fell off a grain cart and cut open his abdomen. The neighbor refused to call an ambulance, and was crawling around when Fields found him.
"He was worried - anybody know what was more important to him than living?" Fields asked.
"He's got to milk," said a handful of students.
"That's right. But how many of you know a milker that's free to cover 80 head?" Fields asked.
The students nodded and several mumbled "none." Fields explained his neighbor couldn't return to farm for about six weeks due to his injury and he couldn't find someone to milk the cows. The neighbor had to ship the whole herd, besides the young of the year, out to a dairy farm many miles away.
"That pretty well ended that dairy operation," Fields said. "It was a rather sobering experience to see it all gone, truckload after truckload, for something as incidental as falling off a grain cart."
Fields then took the students out to the bay of Fire Station One near the Badger State Ethanol plant where a semi hopper was loaded with corn. Several students jumped in the corn and pumped their legs until they were covered up to their knees and firefighters could pull them out using the grain rescue tube.
Fields said the dangers in grain storage are compounded with the influence of technology in farming, coupled with a lack of awareness about the dangers of how to handle stored grain.
"The biggest statistic you need to remember is the single most important contributing factor to grain entrapment is out-of-condition grain," Fields said.
Grain that is stored for a long period of time can become dangerous to walk on. If water leaks into a silo and rots the grain, it molds together, making the pile less stable.
Fields warned that along with the added risk of long-term storage, the machismo culture students are brought up in emulating sports heroes who risk their lives in play is a backwards notion.
"We created this culture of risk-takers and we reward them," Fields said. "Guys out on the basketball court, put it all on the court - they don't care if they lose their teeth and we reward them by applauding."
Fields emphasized safety, but made it entertaining for the students with his wit and jokes.
"You know the phrase "live and learn,'" Fields said. "Well, that doesn't work for skydiving ... it's the same with grain safety."