Pierz Healy student invents Grain Gyre to keep farmers safe

Recently, Mason Gahler, an 11th grade student at Healy High School in Pierz, invented the Grain Gyre.

    “Gyre means rotation, which matches what the purpose of the idea is,” he said.

    Gahler is currently in the process of securing a patent for the invention. The purpose of the invention is to keep farmers from having to get into grain silos or grain bins to shake loose grain and other fodder that has becomes stuck, with the hope that it will ultimately save lives, he said.

    Gahler said the idea to create something that would benefit farmers began several years ago after he watched a video in ag class about the risks grain silos can present to farmers, especially when they become trapped.

    Grain bins and silos are used across the United States by small and large producers to store a variety of crop products, such as soybeans, shelled dry corn, oats, barley, wheat, sunflower seeds and more.

    When the grain is unloaded, the grain flows downward from the top center, which in turn creates a “funnel” effect that draws the crop downward to the conveyor at the bottom of the bin, Gahler said.

    According to Katie Drewitz, educator with the University of Minnesota Extension, nearly two dozen people on average are killed each year in the United States in grain entrapment incidents.

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