7,400 volts changed this Illinois farmer's life in seconds. Now he is warning others about a danger above every field

A routine day in an Illinois farm field turned into a life-changing emergency for Cody Conrady when a sprayer boom came dangerously close to an overhead power line. In a fraction of a second, electricity travelled through the machinery, the ground and Conrady’s body. Years later, he and his wife are sharing what happened not simply as a story of survival, but as a warning to other farmers.

A routine farm job turned into a medical emergency

Conrady was working as an assistant manager for an agricultural fertiliser company on May 15, 2019. It was his next-to-last day on the job, and the company was short-staffed. He got into a truck to move ahead of a sprayer. After the machine was positioned, he stepped out to fill its tank. Neither Conrady nor the coworker operating the sprayer realised that the boom had either contacted or come dangerously close to an overhead power line.

About 7,400 volts travelled through the boom and electrified the equipment and ground around Conrady. His body became part of the electrical path to ground. What followed was a fight for survival. Conrady was resuscitated, taken to a local hospital and later transferred by medical helicopter to a Level 1 trauma centre. His recovery involved multiple surgeries, rehabilitation and prosthetic fittings.

The accident did not end when the electricity stopped

The physical injuries were only the beginning of a long recovery for Conrady and his family. Farm Progress, which profiled the couple four years after the accident, reported that Bailey Conrady received the phone call telling her that Cody had been seriously injured. The couple subsequently turned their experience into an effort to encourage farmers to slow down and look for hazards, particularly when working under pressure.

Cody told Farm Progress: “Take that extra second to look around you and see what dangers are there.” That message has become central to the couple's safety advocacy.

Why overhead lines remain a serious farm hazard

The danger is not limited to direct contact. Electricity can arc from an energised line to equipment that gets too close, meaning a person does not necessarily have to touch the wire for a deadly incident to occur. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration identifies farm machinery including tractors with front-end loaders, grain augers, irrigation equipment and other tall machinery as potential sources of accidental contact with overhead lines. OSHA advises keeping equipment at least 10 feet away from overhead lines and planning equipment routes around them.

South Dakota State University Extension similarly recommends that agricultural producers know where overhead lines are located, choose equipment routes that avoid them and maintain a 10-foot clearance. The rule applies in all directions around the line, not merely to the space directly underneath it. Safe Electricity, the organisation behind Conrady's safety campaign, specifically stresses that workers need to consider the full area around overhead electrical infrastructure.

What farmers should do if equipment touches a line?

One of the most important lessons from Conrady's experience concerns what happens when machinery becomes energised. OSHA advises workers who are inside equipment that has contacted an overhead line to stay on the equipment and have the utility company contacted. Getting out can create another electrical path through the person's body. If leaving the equipment becomes unavoidable because of an immediate danger, workers should jump clear rather than simultaneously touching the machine and ground, then shuffle away.

The safest approach, however, is prevention: identify lines before entering a field, use planned routes, lower equipment when moving it and use another person as a spotter when visibility is limited.

Turning survival into a warning for others

Conrady's story has since become part of Safe Electricity's farm-safety campaign, which provides videos and educational material based on his experience. The organisation says his story is intended to increase awareness of power-line hazards among farmers and others who work around electrical infrastructure.

Conrady's own advice is deliberately simple: “Pay attention a little more. Keep an eye on your surroundings. Just take an extra second to look at things.” For farmers working against weather, deadlines and long days in the field, that extra second can seem insignificant. Conrady's experience demonstrates why it may be anything but.