Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Agtegra Cooperative, 13345 341st Avenue, ROSCOE, SOUTH DAKOTA 57471
on — Avulsions, enucleations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was having his tractor filled with dry fertilizer. He was on the front section of the tractor's hopper box, about to perform a density check on the fertilizer, when he slipped. A sharp object on the tractor caused a degloving injury to the inside of his right index, middle, and ring fingers.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
Three employees were unloading fertilizer from rail cars. One of them was dislodging a hard chunk of material (potash) hanging down from under a car. When the piece broke free, it forced the employee's right hand against a grate, pinching the index finger. The employee was hospitalized and underwent a medical amputation to the fingertip.
While removing a grain blockage from the gate that allows grain to flow from a bin to a reclaim conveyor, an employee's hand was crushed by the closing gate. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was inspecting rail cars from the top to ensure they were ready to accept grain for shipment. The rail car moved and he ducked to avoid the grain spout, which snagged his fall protection, causing him to fall into the rail car. His fall protection caught him, but he struck the wall of the car and suffered facial injuries including a potential orbital fracture.
An employee was hooking up a trailer to a pickup while a second employee was using a skid steer to remove snow around the trailer. The skid steer bucket struck the first employee, causing a compound fracture of the lower left leg below the knee and a fracture to the right wrist. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was walking to their truck to look for a lid. When they stepped between the truck and a dock plate, they sustained a knee injury that required surgery.
An employee was standing on plant bed timbers, using a powered hand trimmer to trim the shrubs in the plant bed. The timber gave way, breaking into several pieces. The employee lost balance and fell with the trimmer in his hand. He suffered a severe laceration to the right wrist and hand.
An employee was loading phosphoric acid onto a rail car and preparing to secure the rail car for transport. While repositioning the loadout spout to secure it back to the drip pan holster on the dock, the spout contacted the handrail of the rail car, causing the employee to lose balance. The employee stepped back and their right foot entered the opening for the rail car, causing him to twist/pivot on his left leg. The employee's lower left leg was fractured.
On November 14, 2023, an employee was receiving a delivery from a truck when some of the merchandise fell from the truck s lift and struck him. He then fell to the ground and his head struck the sidewalk, resulting in an injury that required hospitalization.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 424510)
An employee was preparing to unjam an auger shaft while standing on a forklift-elevated, job-made platform. The employee's wrench slipped off the equipment, causing them to lose their balance and fall. The employee landed on the ground 14 feet below and suffered fractures to the orbital bone, left elbow, and lower back.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee bent over to pick up a rubber mat from the ground. When he grabbed the corner of the mat, a rattlesnake hidden under it bit his left middle finger near the first knuckle. He was hospitalized.
An employee had been cleaning a grain bin. He walked across the bin and his left foot contacted an unguarded floor auger, resulting in severe lacerations to the foot. The auger was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
On September 23, 2025, an employee was monitoring a feed roller when they tripped and their right hand contacted the roller. The employee was hospitalized and their right hand was amputated at the wrist.
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee was using a hook tool to pull a pallet onto the lift gate of a tractor trailer. The hook detached from the underside of the pallet, causing the employee to fall backward off the lift gate. The employee landed on the concrete parking lot about 5 feet below, suffering fractures to the skull and two thoracic vertebrae.
An employee was walking on a truss table when he lost his balance and fell approximately 3 feet to the floor. The employee sustained a dislocated and fractured left ankle.