Harvest is our busiest time of year — and the safest harvests are the most productive. National Grain and Feed Association’s (NGFA) Harvest Safety Week 2025: “Safety First. Harvest Ready.” is August 18–22, 2025. The NGFA is again publishing short, practical training materials and recorded presentations designed for everyone who works with grain — from farm operators to elevator personnel and transport crews.
Why Harvest Safety Week matters
Grain handling and harvest operations come with unique hazards — confined-space risk, entanglement, bin safety, and hazards linked to handling wet or out-of-condition grain. NGFA’s week of resources focuses on practical prevention and preparedness so everyone returns home safely each night. This year’s program includes several new expert-led recorded presentations plus updated training materials to help you plan, train and act before the harvest rush.
Watch the safety videos — a quick, high-value resource
One of the best parts of Harvest Safety Week is the short safety videos and “Safety Tips” materials NGFA publishes on its Safety page. These videos are intentionally short and easy to use in quick crew briefings or when you only have five minutes between loads. We recommend downloading or bookmarking the NGFA safety resources and building one short video into your daily pre-shift routine during harvest.
Topics we know are important to you
At Valley View Agri-Systems we frequently help customers with equipment and systems that affect grain safety and quality. During Harvest Safety Week, consider focusing your team on a few high-impact areas: 
- Grain safety: make sure everyone understands bin entry protocols, lockout/tagout procedures, and emergency rescue plans.
- Grain conditioning: proper conditioning and aeration reduce spoilage, crusting and hotspots — and therefore reduce unsafe handling situations later.
- Portable grain dryer: if you use a portable grain dryer during harvest, inspect fuel systems, electrical connections, exhaust routing, and safe placement away from combustible material before first use.
These actions aren’t just best practice — they protect people and preserve the value of the crop.
Quick checklist for a safer harvest
Use this as a one-page checklist to run through with crews before fieldwork or grain handling begins:
- Equipment pre-check: fans, conveyors, augers, dryer (portable grain dryer included) — fluid levels, guards and electrical.
- Communication plan: radios/cell coverage, emergency contact list, and a spotter system for anyone near moving machinery.
- Confined-space rules: never enter a bin alone, always use harnesses and retrieval systems, and test the atmosphere.
- Grain conditioning plan: monitor moisture and temperature and use aeration/drying to avoid hot spots.
- Short safety video: watch one NGFA clip together and discuss one action you’ll take today.
Don’t forget past Harvest Safety Week topics
If you missed previous years, NGFA maintains the past Harvest Safety Week materials and “Safety Tips” videos — they’re a great on-demand library for training new hires or refreshing seasonal crews. Past topics have included bin-site entanglement hazards, rail and shuttle loading safety, grain quality management, and building workplace safety culture — all useful references as you plan your own training sessions.
How Valley View Agri-Systems can help
Contact Valley View – whether you need help optimizing a portable grain dryer, setting up aeration and grain conditioning systems, or implementing a crew training plan, our team can support equipment selection, preventive maintenance checklists, and on-site startup checks to help you harvest safely and efficiently.
Harvest is a sprint — but safety is non-negotiable. Take advantage of NGFA’s Harvest Safety Week recordings and materials (Aug. 18–22, 2025) and use them to make quick, repeatable safety habits part of every shift.