August through December of 2019 saw at least 14 people killed in grain bin accidents during the rush to clear the season’s unused grain.
Early in the 2019 season a fatal accident in Toledo took the lives of 29-year-old Josh Stone of Rossford and 56-year-old James Heilman of Perrysburg. The pair became trapped in an Anderson grain silo.
The Adams, Brown, Clermont and Highland County Farm Bureau have come together to raise awareness to the danger of grain accidents in presenting a screening of the independent film, SILO. SILO is the first ever feature film about a grain entrapment, a possible tragedy in every farming community.
SILO is meant to inspire dialogue around farm safety the SILO team works with the Grain Handling Safety Coalition to foster discussions around the film.
This year the U.S. Attorney General declared February 16-22, 2020 National Grain Bin Safety Week. This is an annual observance that occurs the third full week in February to promote grain bin safety on farms and commercial grain-handling facilities.
Through education and awareness, the number of grain bin entrapments and injuries can be reduced. For resources on training and prevention check out the Grain Handling Safety Coalition’s website. Your local Farm Bureau office is full of knowledgeable staff that can guide you in the pursuit of Farm Safety and injury prevention.
SILO is inspired by true events, in an American farm town. Teenager Cody Rose working in a 50-foot-tall grain building. The corn becomes quicksand, and he is quickly entrapped. A community will have to set aside differences in time to rescue Cody from drowning in a crop they have depended on for so many years.
SILO has been featured in Progressive Farmer, FarmWeek Now, Sharkfarmer and many more newspapers, magazines, radio shows and podcasts. American AG Network says, “The film speaks directly to our core audience and does a great job at raising awareness of this very real and very dangerous threat posed to farmers.”
Community is not only at the heart of SILO but is the core principle driving SILO’s unique distribution strategy. The challenge of reaching a wide audience with an independent film has never been greater, and SILO filmmakers aim team up with community organizers to both educate and entertain rural audiences nationwide.
SILO will be screened on March 14, 2020 at 6:30 pm at the Gaslight Theater. This Farm Bureau screening is made possible by a generous grant from Grinnell Mutual.
To attend this hosted screening please email abch@ofbf.org or call the Farm Bureau office at 937-378-2212. An online RSVP is available on our Facebook page at Adams Brown Clermont & Highland Farm Bureau.
