Pontiac Daily Leader SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA), along with the State Fire Marshal want Illinois farmers to set aside time to recognize Grain Bin Safety Week, which is this week. Based on Purdue University’s 2019 Summary of U.S. Agricultural Confined Space-Related Injuries and Fatalities report, the U.S. had a five-year average of 58 agricultural confined space related injury and fatality (ACSRIF) cases documented. In 2019, there were 67 (38 of 67 were grain entrapments) U.S. ACSRIF cases documented as opposed to 61 (30 of 61 were grain entrapments) in 2018. Illinois contributed four ACSRIF documented cases in 2019 and five cases in 2018. “It’s easy to become complacent when workers have been in and out of bins for years and never had any problems,” said IDOA Acting Director, Jerry Costello II. “People often think they are big enough, strong enough, or fast enough to get out of flowing grain. Unfortunately, problems can snowball quickly. That’s why it’s important to set aside time to go over safety measures, to prepare farmers for a potential grain bin emergency.”