Members of Nationwide’s Grain Bin Safety Week team work year-round to promote grain safety and equip first responders with rescue tubes and training. Since 2014, the program has provided more than 450 tubes in 35 states, including 31 in Iowa, most recently to the Radcliffe Fire Department in Hardin County. This effort has helped to save at least 15 lives.
When seconds count: Inside grain bin rescue efforts
February 18, 2026 | Kriss Nelson
In just the first few short months of the new year, eight farmers across the country have stepped into grain that looked solid and found out too late that it wasn’t. A split-second decision turned a routine chore into a fight for survival.
It’s a grim reminder that as bins stay full longer, the danger inside them grows, says Derek Hommer, a risk management consultant at Nationwide. With large corn and soybean stocks still in storage, he says the combination of grain quality issues and human nature can turn routine chores into life-or-death decisions.
“Anytime we have large stocks of stored grain, I get concerned about the quality of that grain,” says Hommer. “Everybody has preferred storage options, and that might mean bins with temperature cables, big fans and good unloading systems. When we have a lot of grain to store, we fill that first, and then we start to move onto less-than-ideal storage facilities. Most of those less-than-ideal storage situations are not a great place to keep grain in condition late into the year.”
Those conditions often lead to crusting, spoilage and dangerous situations inside grain structures. This year alone, Hommer has already counted several grain entrapments throughout the U.S. a number that underscores why safety remains a year-round issue, not just a seasonal talking point.
A lifesaving campaign
Hommer’s perspective is shaped not only by his professional work, but also by his own background as a farmer in Warren County.
“Like other farm kids, I grew up playing in corn, watching a sweep auger and riding on the fender of an 806 Farmall,” he says. “I’ll never forget the first farm fatality loss I learned of shortly after starting at Nationwide. It made me realize how naïve we are on the farm to the dangers all around us. I try to take what I learn and share those stories because what happened to others can happen to me if I don’t change my mentality.”
That’s at the heart of Nationwide’s Grain Bin Safety campaign. The effort began in 2014 with a simple but ambitious mission: zero lives lost.
“Nationwide started the campaign in 2014 with the goal of saving lives,” Hommer says. “We awarded one grain rescue tube that year and asked the governor to issue a proclamation for a week to recognize and educate on the dangers of entering grain structures.” In the 12 campaigns since, Nationwide has awarded an additional 451 tubes in 35 states total.
“Each time we find a new partner the program gets bigger and reaches farther,” he says.
The work does not stop when Grain Bin Safety Week ends.
“There is always work being done,” Hommer says.
Through the Nominate Your Fire Department contest, open from Jan. 1 through April 30, nearly anyone can nominate a local fire department to receive a grain rescue tube and training. The nomination process is simple.
“Tell us who they are, who to contact, and why they need a tube,” Hommer says.
Tube deliveries and training occur May through November, and Nationwide raises funds for the campaign year-round.
Training and delivery are handled in partnership with the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS). When a department receives a tube, NECAS brings a grain entrapment simulator, provides classroom instruction, and then walks firefighters through hands-on rescues.
“They have tools, expertise and experience in training first responders to perform such a rescue,” he says. “They will sink a firefighter into the simulator and teach two others how to rescue them. After the victim is rescued, they reset again until every person present is trained.”
Tools that save
For farmers and ag workers, Hommer says the most important message right now is a simple but uncomfortable one.
“Many of us need a change in mentality,” he says. “Grain entrapments happen, PTO entanglements happen, tractor rollovers happen and sometimes people don’t come home.”
A critical piece of the campaign focuses on first responders, especially in rural communities.
“In our campaign, we rely on people to nominate their local fire department so we can find those departments that need the life-saving equipment and training,” Hommer says. “The fire department that is the closest to your grain facility is likely not the biggest. In many cases we are giving life-saving equipment and training to firefighters who are flipping pancakes and fundraising to fund their needs. We need your help to find them.”
While the goal is always prevention, Hommer says the equipment has already proven its worth.
“We run a program where we give first responders a piece of life-saving equipment and hope that it never has to leave the fire station,” he says. “There are times, however, that our tubes have been called into action. To date, our tubes and training have been utilized to save 16 lives.”
Iowa has been a major beneficiary of the program, with 31 tubes awarded so far.
“When I hear about a save, I am so proud of the sponsors and team members that provided that tube to ultimately save a life,” Hommer says. “And we know there is more work to do.”
Still, farmers are the first line in ensuring zero fatalities.
“Be honest with yourself,” Hommer says. “You are probably taking risks you should not be.”
Farmers can learn more about the dangers of grain structures by visiting Grain Bin Safety Week – Nationwide.
Written by Kriss Nelson.
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