Factors that Influence Farm Safety Decisions of Young Adults when Entering Agricultural Grain Bins

Highlights A grain handling scenario-based survey was administered to college students studying agriculture. Participants chose an action after reading each scenario and ranked factors affecting their decision-making. Most participants chose a “safe” option and claimed to value their personal safety when making decisions. Parental authority and pressure had little influence on participants’ decisions to enter grain bins. Abstract. The approaches that parents take in the supervision of youth who perform hazardous tasks on family farms can affect youth safety outcomes. This research examines the most significant factors affecting youths’ decisions to enter agricultural grain storage facilities. Over 200 students attending a Midwestern land-grant university who had grain bin experience as youth completed a decision-making survey. Students chose from a list of actions in three realistic but hypothetical scenarios involving grain bin entry. Afterward, they ranked factors according to the level of importance in their decision. Although most participants chose options that emphasized safety when answering the scenario questions and held the “personal safety” factor in highest regard, some chose higher-risk options and valued “productivity.” The findings revealed that youth held little value in their parents’ authority and pressure when making decisions related to grain bin entry. The study’s limitations are addressed, as are the implications of these findings for youth safety outcomes on family farms. Keywords: Decision-making, External pressures, Farm youth safety, Grain bin safety.

Cost Assessment of Five Different Maize Grain Handling Techniques to Reduce Postharvest Losses from Insect Contamination

Farmers in developing nations encounter high postharvest losses mainly attributable to the lack of modern techniques for threshing, cleaning, grading, and grain storage. Mechanized handling of grain in developing countries is rare, although the technology is effective against insects and pest infestations. The objective was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of five grain handling techniques that have the ability to reduce postharvest losses from insect infestation. The five methods were metal silo plus all accessories (m. silo + acc.), metal silo only (m. silo), woven polypropylene plus phosphine (w. PP. + Phos.), woven polypropylene only (w. PP.), and Purdue Improved Crop Storage bags only (PICS). The functional unit used was handling 1 kg of maize grain. The cost analysis of each technique was calculated based on equations using a spreadsheet. The annual capital and operational costs of handling using m. silo + acc. or m. silo were very high, unlike the PICS, w. PP. + Phos., or w. PP. The annual capital and operational costs decreased as production scale increased. Food security (due to reduced insects and pest infestations) and financial prospects of farmers can improve when the grain is mechanically handled with m. silo + acc. or m. silo.

Dust Content and Adhesion Characteristics of Five Corn Samples

HighlightsThe corn sample and centrifuge speed interactions were statistically significant predictors of dust generation.Attachment strengths of dust particles were calculated, with forces ranging from less than 4.6 × 10-10 N to 2.1 × 10-8 N.A sequential centrifuge experiment indicated a bimodal distribution of adhesion forces.Abstract. Grain dust explosions are a constant threat to the grain handling industry. Explosions occur when dust accumulates beyond the minimum explosion concentration in a confined area and is exposed to an ignition source. Handling and grain unloading conditions that generate dust, the minimum explosive dust concentration, overpressure from an explosion, and other factors that lead to grain dust explosion are well documented in the literature. The adhesion force that holds grain dust particles to the grain itself is an important factor in better understanding and mitigating dust separation from grain kernels and the resulting dust cloud generation. However, that adhesion force, how it is affected by grain quality, and how it is influenced by particle factors such as size and shape has not been adequately researched. A centrifuge separation technique was used to study the adhesion forces of grain dust. Results showed large variability in dust concentration between the five corn samples tested in this study. The dust particle attachment strength ranged from less than 4.6 × 10-10 N to 2.1 × 10-8 N. Only the sample and centrifuge speed interaction had a statistically significant effect on dust concentrations recovered at a 5% confidence limit. Under repeated centrifugations, the dust removed showed a bimodal distribution of attachment strengths, with three of four samples tested showing a local minimum at 2000 rpm, and the other at 3000 rpm. This study improves the understanding of the fundamental attachment strength behind dust separation from grain kernels. Investigating the size, shape, and surface characteristics of dust particles with varying attachment strengths is important to further understand their adhesion and separation mechanisms. Keywords: Adhesion strength, Dust explosion, Dust mitigation, Grain dust, Grain handling.

Analysis of Corn Dust Particle Properties and How Surface Roughness Influences Adhesion

HighlightsFreshly harvested, higher quality corn samples have a higher proportion of small dust particles with a lower circularity and aspect ratio compared to older, lower quality samples.For freshly harvested grain, dust particles removed at low centrifuge speed were significantly rougher than particles removed at high speed.Lower quality corn did not show a significant decrease in particle roughness for strongly attached dust.The surface area decreased while the surface energy increased with the attachment strength of dust particles.Abstract. High dust concentrations associated with grain handling can cause serious problems, including health and safety risks from dust inhalation and increased risk of explosions due to contained suspended dust in the presence of an ignition source. The amount of dust generated during grain handling is influenced by several factors, including the adhesion strength of dust to the grain. One factor that could influence the adhesion strength of grain dusts is how the dust particles are shaped and how their shape relates to the surface texture of corn. To better understand the properties of dust particles separated from corn samples, dust samples were analyzed for morphology and particle size. In addition, dust samples were separated with different centrifugation speeds to compare the properties of dusts that were strongly or weakly attached to the grain. These samples were observed with a light profilometer to measure their surface roughness characteristics. Results showed that freshly harvested corn samples contained a higher presence of small particles with low circularity than older, lower quality samples. The large particles observed were determined to be starch, as opposed to the smaller particles that were more likely soil or other non-plant-based material. The dust particles that were more strongly attached to corn kernels tended to have lower surface roughness than those that were weakly attached for the freshly harvested grain. Keywords: Dust adhesion, Particle shape, Surface adhesion, Surface roughness.