By Jeff Burbrink
Ag and Natural Resources Extension Educator, Purdue Extension LaGrange County

LAGRANGE COUNTY — In the fall of 1979, my college roommate received a devastating call. The family’s hired man, and his good friend, had been killed in a combine accident. I am still haunted by the look on his face.

Jeff Burbrink

It appears the corn head had plugged, and he had left the cab with the machine running to unplug the platform. When the obstruction loosened, he was still grasping the corn stalks, and was pulled quickly into the machine. Just like that, he was gone.

Those rotating blades operate at 12 feet per second. That’s an entire arm length pulled into the machine in just one-fourth of a second. No human being can react quick enough to let go. The only safe way to remove an obstruction is to shut off the header before attempting to clear the obstruction.

Combines are amazing feats of engineering but can be hazardous in many ways. Modern combines are loaded with electronics, bearings, pulleys, belts, hydraulics, pumps, combustible fluids, and other moving parts. Sparks or friction created from any number of these sources can kindle dust and plant debris, which in turn can ignite fiberglass panels and other combustibles. Some of these hot spots can smolder for hours, causing a fire to breakout hours after the machine is shutdown, so frequent cleaning can help prevent the fires. Many combines now come with two fire extinguishers. Are yours up to update?

It is tempting to take shortcuts in the busy harvest season. But it’s the shortcuts that tend to catch people off-guard. For instance, it may be temping to crawl under the head to do quick maintenance, but you cannot rely on a machines hydraulics to always be there for you. Case in point, I had a hydraulic line rupture on my tractor’s loader a few years ago, and it crashed to the ground unexpectedly. Never do maintenance under the combine header without the stops in place.

If there are multiple people running the combine on your farm, I suggest having a frank discussion about safety protocols. Better to talk before than wish you had afterwards.

Probably the best advice of all is to be aware of your own limitations. Harvest season is demanding. There is pressure to get the crop out as soon as possible, especially when the weatherman is predicting rain. Fatigue is a silent threat from all those long hours. Sometimes the best remedy is a good long walk, some cool water, or a nice snack break.