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Cory Ritter of Blue Mound, Illinois, stands next to the grain bin where his father, Tom Ritter, died. Salah Issa, a University of Illinois-Extension specialist and assistant professor, says 95 percent of grain-bin incidents are preventable. Prevention starts by installing systems in or near grain bins that can safely break up clumps and address grain-flow problems from outside the bin.
The Ritter family poses for a portrait. Tom Ritter and his son, Cory Ritter, worked alongside their families during harvest season for more than 20 years. Cory Ritter says spending quality time with family was one of his father’s greatest priorities.
Diana Ritter, left, and Tom Ritter, right, spend time during a previous harvest season with their grandchildren Ryden, Reece, Celia and Harper Ritter. Young and older workers face the most risk in grain-bin accidents, with most incidents involving people older than 60 and younger than 21, according to Salah Issa, University of Illinois-Extension specialist and assistant professor.
BLUE MOUND, Ill. – Tom Ritter and his son, Cory Ritter, had worked together with their families every harvest season for the past 20 years.
Estefanía Pinto Ruiz is with KWQC. This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation.
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Cory Ritter of Blue Mound, Illinois, stands next to the grain bin where his father, Tom Ritter, died. Salah Issa, a University of Illinois-Extension specialist and assistant professor, says 95 percent of grain-bin incidents are preventable. Prevention starts by installing systems in or near grain bins that can safely break up clumps and address grain-flow problems from outside the bin.
The Ritter family poses for a portrait. Tom Ritter and his son, Cory Ritter, worked alongside their families during harvest season for more than 20 years. Cory Ritter says spending quality time with family was one of his father’s greatest priorities.
Diana Ritter, left, and Tom Ritter, right, spend time during a previous harvest season with their grandchildren Ryden, Reece, Celia and Harper Ritter. Young and older workers face the most risk in grain-bin accidents, with most incidents involving people older than 60 and younger than 21, according to Salah Issa, University of Illinois-Extension specialist and assistant professor.
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