shut down first

greenthumb · Jan 3, 2002

Summerized from the local paper. Last saturday a local farmer was I guess out picking corn with an old one row harvester. His neigbor saw him laying on his equipement and thought that was strange. when he went over he saw the guy had one arm pulled into the machine. It took EMS over two hours to finally use the jaws of life to get his arm which some how was still attached out of the equipment they finally used the jaws of life and were able to pry it apart. the paper went on to say that just minuets before they got the guy unstuck they were ready to airlift a surgen to the feild to remove the arm onsite. I have not seen any follow ups so far and the paper at the time did know if he would keep his arm. Remember that when we need to adjust look or anything we shut off the engine first it doesn't take that much time to restart

Thomas · Jan 4, 2002

Hope the fellow doing okay.
I bet most of us had really close calls over the years,enough so we shook little and than started to breath..hand on lessons.
One just never knows so you got to be thinking all the time,for equipment has no feeling.

RSeymour · Jan 4, 2002

Greenthumb, I think we are neighbors as that happened in my township. A friend is on the Fire Dept. & said it was not pretty.

frank_f15 · Jan 7, 2002

only takes a min. to do something dumb. most of us have done it, only we got away with it. FOOD FOR THOUGHT?

GlueGuy · Jan 7, 2002

Ugh. Those kinds of stories just turn my stomach. I have a hard time even thinking about it. I sure hope that guy recovers OK.

MDNick · Jan 8, 2002

Those old corn pickers have caused many a farmer to have a hook instead of a hand. The husking rolls are tightly spaced 3"-4" rolls with little teeth like things that hook the husks and pull them off the ears. They tend to be up to 5' or so long, are at an angle so as they turn close to one another (1/8 or so gap) the ears fall down to the elevator. It happens that occasional stalks, trash, husks get balled up and don't get pulled through the rolls. Only option is pull that crap out by hand. Many a farmer has attempted this with the machine running, sometimes they get lucky, but sometimes those little ears hook hands just as easily as they hook husks.

Heard a story (could be a rural legend, but probably not) of a farmer that did just exactly that, neighbor kids saw him in the morning when they were getting on the school bus, bent over his corn picker. When they got home from school, he was still there. Kids casually mentioned to parents that Farmer John has been right there all day. Parents grasped the issue, went out to him and he was in up to his elbows. Truly gruesome image to ponder.

Yes, the old New Idea type and similar corn pickers deserve lots of respect.