In an effort to raise awareness about farm safety using a combination of cinema and education, the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH) at UNMC is partnering with the Grain Handling Safety Coalition (GHSC), Sukup Manufacturing Company and the feature film “Silo” at Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island Tuesday through Thursday.
The hospitality tent will host exhibits from CS-CASH, GHSC and SILO. Visitors can participate in hands-on activities and learn safety and health tips. “Silo,” a film dealing with grain entrapment, will show an exclusive movie trailer and provide information to visitors on how they can host a SILO film screening in their community.
“The movie ‘Silo’ provides a fresh approach to engaging audiences to talk about farm safety,” said Ellen Duysen, community outreach specialist for CS-CASH.
“Collaborating with CS-CASH, Sukup Manufacturing Company, and the ‘Silo’ production team is an opportunity to send a consistent message about the importance of using safe work practices,” said GHSC co-founder Catherine Rylatt.
In collaboration with Sukup Manufacturing Company, several free safety training sessions also will be available. On Tuesday and Wednesday, half-hour sessions will be presented at the Sukup exhibit at 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
In addition, a session on preventing grain bin entry hazards will be presented on Thursday, Sept. 12, in the hospitality tent at 1 p.m. Participants will receive free safety gear as well as a chance to win larger safety-related prizes.
“We all have the same goal — to keep farmers, their workers, and their families safe,” said John Hanig, bin sales director for Sukup Manufacturing. “Working together increases our ability to achieve this.”
A free screening of “Silo” will take place at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Sukup Manufacturing exhibit.
“‘Silo’ is proud to partner with these organizations,” said Sam Goldberg, “Silo” producer. “They work daily to assist farmers and save lives. We believe our film supports these efforts by offering a new avenue to generate conversation and awareness.”
For more information, free resources or to schedule training, visit grainsafety.org.