One of Our Ranching Friends in Lavaca Told Us Why He Changed How He Loads the Auger This Spring

Where we heard it

One of our ranching friends in Lavaca County — a cow-calf operator we have been lucky to learn from — told us at the feed store counter last Friday why he changed how he handles the auger this year. He said it was worth sharing if we thought it might help somebody. We thought it might.

He told us he had been running the same auger the same way for close to twenty years without a problem. Then a few seasons back, somebody in his extended family — he did not want us to name the town — caught a sleeve in a running auger and lost two fingers before anybody could shut the PTO down. He said the thing that gets him about it is that the kid who got hurt was not being careless. He was doing exactly what he had seen everybody else do a hundred times.

After that, our friend changed three things about how he and anybody helping him handles the auger. Here is what he does now, in his own words.

What he changed

1. Off means off. And off means thirty.

He said the rule used to be "kill the PTO and then you can reach in." The rule is now: kill the PTO, kill the engine, and count to thirty. Out loud. By the clock if the clock is handy.

He said the thirty-second wait is not really about the auger. It is about the flywheel and the residual rotation in the driveline. Even when the engine is off, a big auger has enough spin left in it to pull a glove in before a grown man can react. The wait gives the rotational energy time to bleed off. After thirty seconds, he said, the thing is actually stopped. Before thirty seconds, it is still dangerous.

He said you will feel foolish counting out loud the first few times. You will not feel foolish the hundredth time, because it will just be what you do.

2. He marked the intake with bright red paint.

The second thing he did was paint the intake area and about a foot around it with bright red enamel. He said he does not need the paint — he already knows where the danger is — but anybody helping him might not. A grandson. A neighbor. A hand who is new to the operation. He said the paint tells them, without him having to stop what he is doing and explain: "Do not put your hands in the red unless the PTO is off and the count is done."

It took him about ten dollars and forty minutes. He said it is the cheapest safety upgrade he has ever made and the one he wishes he had done twenty years ago.

3. He stopped reaching over a running auger to break up clumps.

The third change was the hardest for him to admit, because he said he knows every rancher reading this will recognize themselves in it. He used to reach in over the top of a running auger to break up clumps when feed started bridging. He said he had done it so many times it did not feel like a risk anymore. It was just part of the work.

He said the rule now is: clumps mean you stop the auger. Every single time. No exceptions. If it is the fifth time in a morning, he stops it a fifth time. If it means the feeding takes ten minutes longer, it takes ten minutes longer.

He said the day he stopped doing the reach-over is the day his wife stopped holding her breath when she heard the auger start.

Who he would call if he wanted to learn more

• His local equipment dealer — especially if the PTO guard on any driveline on the place has gone missing or cracked. He said it is worth asking for a replacement before the next season starts.
• The county AgriLife Extension office — for safety publications and in some cases free shields for older equipment through program partnerships. He said he has not always known what extension offered until he asked.
• His insurance agent — he said his policy actually has a safety-equipment discount he had not been using.

What we are still watching

• We are asking other ranching friends in the Network how they handle their auger routines — specifically the ones who have had a close call or know somebody who has. If we hear another approach we think is worth sharing, we will write it up.
• We are trying to get a short written explainer from a Texas AgriLife equipment safety specialist on the physics of the thirty-second wait — why it really works, what the actual rotational energy numbers look like on a typical PTO-driven auger, and whether it is different for hydraulic-driven equipment. We will share when we have it.
• If any equipment dealers or extension folks want to correct or add to any of this, please do. We will post it.

One simple thing you can do this week

If you run an auger on your place, take ten minutes before the next feeding and do two things: check that the PTO guard is in place and undamaged, and — if you do not already have one — mark the intake zone in bright paint. Red is easiest to see in winter light. It is a ten-dollar change and it might be the most important upgrade you make this year.

And start counting to thirty. Out loud. You will feel foolish the first time. That is fine. Everybody who started doing it felt foolish the first time. Nobody who has been doing it for a year wants to go back.

Holler if…

You have an auger routine that has saved you trouble, we want to hear it. You can share it through the Network the way you'd like — attributed to your county or kept fully private — just holler and we'll figure it out.

We will keep listening. Come home safe. Your hands too.