Your Husband's Been Run Over by a Silage Truck

In the fall of 2014 I received a call saying, “We’re taking Noah to the hospital. He’s been run over by the silage truck… but he’s doing good.”

Cue all of the emotions.

I called Noah. The story was confusing. Supposedly he has just talked to his brother who was driving a silage truck and was about to unload. My husband was on the silage pile about to take a sample of the corn for testing. Somehow he didn’t hear the truck backing up onto the pile. It knocked him over and backed right over his legs and feet.

Anyways, I just knew I had to get to the hospital to be with my husband.

In between the hurrying of thinking I should pack our bags because who knew how long we’d be in the hospital for, I kept wondering if how much of his body was crushed. What did his legs look like? Would he have to give up his love of farming?

Thankfully he has always loved his milk. It must have helped keep his bones strong. There was not one broken bone in either of his legs or feet. They were cushioned by the silage pile. Had this happened on a hard surface it would have been a completely different ending to this story.

The long days and nights, little sleep, stress levels at an all time high, and miscommunication contributed to my husband’s accident. We were in our early 20s and married for just about a year. I never thought I’d have to experience something like that. However, it’s why I care so much about farm safety all year-round.

His bruised and swollen legs the first night

Talk to your farm workers about complacency. Take breaks and slow down. You can’t remind people enough about safety during these busy, busy times.

National Farm Safety and Health Week is this week, September 19 – 25, 2021. According to Wisconsin DATCP, “2019 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the agricultural sector is still the most dangerous in America with 573 fatalities, or an equivalent of 23.1 deaths per 100,000 workers. Fall harvest time can be one of the busiest and most dangerous seasons of the year for the agriculture industry. For this reason, the third week of September is recognized as National Farm Safety and Health Week.”

Each day this week has a topic of focus.