UNIVERSITY PARK
(Centre Co.) A number of
Pennsylvania fanners lose fin
gers, hands, arms, and even feel
in com harvesting equipment
each year. Some lose their
lives. Neatly all of the accidents
are preventable, but risk
taking, carelessness, or lack of
knowledge allow them to hap
pen. Such tragedies can be pre
vented, however, especially if
farm wotkers understand the
hazards these machines present
and practice the safety precau
tions needed to avoid them.
Most serious com harvesting
accidents involve either corn
pickers or com combines.
Because these machines per
form similar tasks, the dangers
that are related to their opera
tion are similar, too. Bums,
severe cuts, entrapment, and
amputations are hazards of
both.
Compickers are usually
involved in most severe com
harvesting accidents, mainly
because of their easily clogged
gathering mechanisms. Char
acteristically, compicking acci
dents occur when the snapping
rolls become plugged and the
operator tries to remove debris
or cornstalks while the machine
is still running. As he tugs at a
plugged stalk or weed, the
snapping rolls suddenly free up
and begin to roll, yanking stalks
or weeds forward at nearly ten
feet per second. Before the
operator can release his grip,
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Guard Against Corn Harvesting Accidents
his hand and arm have travelled
about three and a half feet and
into the machine. To make mat
ters worse, once he is entangled
in the machine it is often a very
difficult and time consuming
task to get him out Fortuantely,
avoiding accidents like this is
easy. Simply turn off the power
to your compicker before serv
icing it in any way!
The gathering mechanisms
on com combines do not
become plugged as easily as
those on compickers. Never
theless, com combine operators
also run the risk of losing
hands, arms, or feet if they try to
unplug the rolls without first
turning the machine off. Most
combine injuries occur when
clothing, fingers, hands or legs
are caught in the many exposed
belts and gears. These accidents
usually result in bums and
severe cuts although amputa
tions also occur. As with the
compicker, shut your combine
completely off to avoid injury
whenever you leave the opera
tor’s platform to make adjust
ments. If some tasks must be
carried out with the machine
running, wear clothing that is
comfortable but close-fitting.
Be especially careful to avoid
wearing flappy coveralls, and
loose sleeves and cuffs.
Because of their size, it is
dangerous to use com harvest
ing equipment, particularly
combines, near ditches or
streams. The banks along these
channels can give way under
the picker or combine and upset
it. As a rule, ft prevent acci
dents of this nature, keep the
center of gravity of your
machine as far from the edge of
a channel as the channel is
deep. For instance, if the bank
rises six feet from a ditch, keep
at least six feet between the
bank’s edge and the center of
your machine.
Another factor that affects
safety during com harvest is the
weather. During the rain and
cold of late fall com is frequent
ly wet or icy. Wet or icy com is
more likely to clog the feeding
mechanisms of both pickers
and combines. It is also more
likly to fall over, adding to the
problem of muddy and slick
field conditions, which make it
difficult to stay on the com
rows. If you must harvest crops
under these conditions, slow
your groundspeed and take in
less com than you normally
would. If you harvest com early
in the season, beware of hot and
dry conditions.
Dry com can catch fire and
bum rapidly, endangering not
only you and your equipment,
but your crops as well. Be alert
for overheated bearings or belts
and remove accumulations of
chaff and stalks from near the
manifold. For added safety and
the ability to act quickly in an
emergency, your harvesting
machinery should be equipped
with a fire extinguisher at all
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Com Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 14,1995-Pa*
©(DIM TMM M®W§
times.
Harvesting com is a demand
ing task requiring constant
alertness on the part of the
machine operator. Due to poor
ly operating equipment and/or
long woiking hours, farmers
frequently lecome fatigued and
then canno maintain the level
of awareness that is required to
safely complete their task. This
problem can be avoided, how
ever, through careful planning
before harvest. For example,
“downtime” can be reduced in
most cases by inspecting and
repairing corn harvesting
equipment before harvest day
arrives. And although long
hours in the field are often
necessary, working time can be
structured in a way that will
allow you to rest periodically.
This can be done by setting up
shifts and changing off once or
twice a day if you are able to
share the work with someone
else, or by shutting off the
machine and taking a break
every couple of hours when
working alone.
On com harvesting equip
ment, as with all other farm
vehicles, carrying extra riders is
a serious hazard. Unnecessary
riders not only run the risk of
falling under the machinery or
getting caught in expo:ed belts
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or gears, they also distract the
driver and can affect his driving
performance. When operating
com combines make sure no
one enters the grain tank or
stands near the stalk chopper
when the machine is running.
Occasionally children may be
drawn by curiosity or a sense of
adventure to the com field
where the harvesting is taking
place. Therefore, always be on
the lookout for children in the
field ahead. The best way to
prevent second party accidents,
though, is to keep all individu
als not involved in the harvest,
especially children, far away
from the com harvesting
operation.
A safe, efficient com harvest
in autumn depends a great deal
upon how well you prepare for
accidents. Be aware of the
hazards the weather, fatigue,
second parties, and embank
ments pose. Most of all,
remember that the key factor in
most com harvesting accidents
is the failure of the operator to
stop the power before unclog
ging or servicing his equip
ment. Whenever you need to
leave your equipment to service
it, do one very important thing
before you do anything else:
TURN IT OFF!
WE SHIP UPS
219