I recently celebrated my five-year anniversary as a full-time employee of Cygnus Business Media, Feed & Grain magazine's former parent company, and nearly simultaneously reached another milestone in my career: being named editor of Feed & Grain.
Over the past five years, I have worked for several Cygnus publications in various industries (all while serving as part-time Feed & Grain staffer), but I always felt most at home among the folks in the feed and grain sector. Through my travels as associate editor to trade shows, conferences and facilities, I've had the opportunity to meet many of the amazing professionals who help make agriculture the fine engine of prosperity that it is today. From our readers, to the trade associations that represent you and the equipment suppliers, everyone I've met has been welcoming, hospitable and eager to share their insights with me.
So, naturally I'm thrilled to be advancing my career within a group of people that I admire and genuinely enjoy being a part of. That’s why my joy can’t help but be dampered by sadness over the high rate of grain-related accidents we've had this summer.
By mid-July, an Illinois man had died from grain engulfment while working at a cooperative, two men were injured in an elevator explosion in Nebraska and a farmer died near Dayton, OH, trying to empty a grain bin. In June, two men in Indiana died from separate accidents at grain facilities, one involving grain engulfment and an explosion at another. But it started in April, when an ethanol plant worker died by grain engulfment in Milton, WI — a town halfway between my commute from home to Feed & Grain's office. In fact, through "six degrees of separation," I was acquainted with the young man who lost his life. A church in my town held a benefit for his widow and child.
Up until then, I had only read about such tragedies in the news — it never hit close to home on a personal level, but this accident highlighted how in touch I am with this industry. I'm not just an observer, or a mere reporter of your events. I live in the same type of community as you do and experience the same ups and downs that come with being entrenched in agriculture.
And while I don't know the circumstances surrounding these accidents, and I am in no way placing blame on anyone, I do want to bring attention to OSHA's new "stop sign" for the grain industry, which serves as a simple reminder to check all hazards before entering a grain bin.
Here's to a safe and happy ending to your summer!