The grain industry is gearing up for its annual Stand Up 4 Grain Safety Week, scheduled for March 24-28, 2025. This collaborative effort, sponsored by the Alliance, aims to promote workplace safety through focused training and awareness.
The week-long event offers free daily training sessions covering crucial topics such as fatigue management, emergency planning, and worksite housekeeping. A special session on railway safety is also included.
"Every year dozens of employees are injured or die from preventable hazards while working in grain storage and handling," said an Alliance spokesperson. "Safety doesn't need to be big to be effective, but it does need everyone to make it happen."
The initiative kicks off with a two-hour event on Monday, followed by daily sessions:
- Tuesday: Fatigue
- Wednesday: Safety Planning for Emergencies
- Thursday: Worksite Housekeeping (with a bonus afternoon session on Railway Safety)
- Friday: Alternate Grain Storage
All sessions begin at 10 a.m. CDT, with some offering Spanish versions at 2 p.m. CDT.
The event highlights recent industry statistics, including a 33% decrease in grain entrapments from 2022 to 2023, and a 58% fatality rate for total grain entrapments in 2023.
Stand Up 4 Grain Safety Week, which began as a local event in 2017, has grown to include partnerships with major industry organizations. The 2025 partners include Bartlett, CVA, Grain Journal, Iowa State University, and Union Pacific Railroad, among others.
Participants are encouraged to use the hashtag #StandUp4GrainSafety on social media to join the conversation and share their safety commitments.
