On another ag site, i read about a boy who got stuck in the clod separator of a potato digger. The machine was plugging with loaf and he tried to kick it through with his feet, when he got pulled in. He was bruised all over his legs but did not get any permanent disabilities.
He was glad to walk again after a week.
Off course the guys that read the books came by to say that you should allways turn the machine off etcetera, and off course theoretically they are right. Problem is that it usually requires little pressure on the plug to remove it and have the machine pull the plugged material through. When the machine is turned off, all trash has to be pulled out by manual labor, whish is quite some more, and heavier work. Most people in the hurry of harvest, dont want to waste their time and take the quick way.
When someone else suggested to at least use a stick to push into the plugged rolls of a running machine, so you can let go of the stick when it is grabbed, most guys running potato harvesters agreed that it was wise to take a wooden stick with them to the field, because this would be a very good safety improvement vs. kicking with the boot, though 90% of them agreed that in the heat of harvest, they probably would chose to risk their foot for a 30 second unplugging operation, than turning the machine off and waste 20 minutes of precious harvest time...
this was last fall... i wonder how many of these people remember this story and do take a wooden stick with them this harvest season.... ???
In Holland it is widely known that the highest death rate in any business, is the agricultural contracting business during the corn silage harvesting months october and november. The time pressure is high and people work 14 hours a day 6 days a week. Some work even 7 days a week, 3 to 4 weeks in a row. It is not surprising that tired operators, mostly old folks that are too old to stay alert, or young unexperienced farm kids, both groups only working in peak season, cause the biggest death rates in agruculture.
