WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA, US — At least 48 cases of fatal and nonfatal agricultural confined space incidents were documented in the United States in 2025, down 5.9% from the 51 cases in 2024 and well under the 10-year average of 60, according to an annual report from Purdue University.

Of those identified incidents, 22 were fatal and 26 were non-fatal, according to “2025 Summary of U.S. Agricultural Confined Space-related Injuries and Fatalities” that was issued by the Purdue Agricultural Safety and Health Program on July 23.

The incidents included 21 grain entrapments, seven falls into or from grain storage structures, 10 asphyxiations due to oxygen-deficient or toxic environments, eight equipment entanglements (such as those involving in-floor and sweep augers) occurring while working in or around agricultural confined spaces, and two incidents involving miscellaneous circumstances.

There were no fewer than 21 grain-related entrapments in 2025, a 38% decrease from 2024, with the balance of 27 incidents involving livestock waste handling facilities, entanglements and falls in and around grain storage and handling facilities. Of the 21 grain-related entrapments, six were fatal.

“While overall agricultural-related incident counts remain relatively stable, grain entrapments continue to pose a disproportionate risk due to their historically higher fatality rates compared to other incident types, underscoring the need for continued focus on prevention and safety interventions,” the report said.

Four incidents in 2025 involved livestock waste storage pits or lagoons, resulting in 10 fatalities, including six in one incident.

Minnesota was identified with the most confined space-related cases in 2025 (eight), followed by Colorado (seven), and Indiana (six). 

Indiana and Minnesota reported the most grain-entrapment cases in 2025 with five each, followed by Illinois with three cases. The frequency of these incidents, however, remains relatively rare, the report noted.

Since the 1970s, Purdue University’s Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department has been documenting and investigating incidents involving grain storage and handling facilities at both commercial and on-farm locations.

Beginning in 2013, the effort was expanded with support from a US Department of Labor Susan Harwood Training Grant to include incidents involving other agricultural confined spaces such as falls, entanglements, asphyxiations and drownings in manure storage facilities and other agricultural confined spaces. 

Data has been coded and stored in the Purdue Agricultural Confined Space Incident Database (PACSID). To learn more about the process of identifying, documenting, and coding the data for this report, previous summaries are available at www.agconfinedspaces.org.

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John Reidy is senior digital media editor for World Grain, covering the grain, flour and feed industries. He spent 25 years in newspapers as a reporter and editor and has been an editor in the grain industry since 2019. He joined Sosland Publishing Company in 2021. He is a graduate of Creighton University with a degree in journalism. Connect with John Reidy on LinkedIn or via email.