Farm Safety Time

As this years farming season in North America gets underway, perhaps it's time to review a few farm safety items.

As you may or may not know, farming is one of the most dangerous professions a person can have. According to the National Safety Council, more that 120,000 farm accidents and other health related issues occur annually, plus nearly 1200 lost lives. What is concerning is the fact that they are nearly all preventable.

Here are some helpful tips that may help you and your loved ones be safe one the farm, even if it is one acre or a thousand acres.

1. If you use pesticides, herbicides or chemicals of any kind, know them inside and out. Know exactly what they are for, how much should be used, symptoms of exposure or over exposure, and what to do if someone is exposed.
2. Ensure that all animals are properly vaccinated by a professional.
3. Know your equipment like the back of your hand. If you don't, you might end up without a hand.
4. Don't operate equipment when you are tired. Being tired affects judgment. Poor judgment and a ten ton tractor do not get along well together.
5. Stay hydrated & keep water with you at all times. You may think that your John Deere 5003 will get you home after a long day of baling hay, but what if it doesn't? Bringing a gallon of water along for the ride is very cheap insurance.
6. Never work around powered machinery with tattered or loose fitting clothes.
   
7. Don't listen to an MP3 player with headphones or ear-buds while operating a tractor or combine or generally anything motorized.
8. Carry a cell phone or other communication tool. In a pinch, you may need it. I am partial to farmers getting their ham radio licenses and carrying a radio along with them. But then again, I am biased.
9. Keep your equipment and tools well maintained. Double check your head, tail and running lights at least once a week.
10. Watch the weather. Getting stuck on an open cabbed tractor in a small rain shower is one thing; being in the middle of a severe thunderstorm is another.
11. Don't let young kids help. I know... I know... When I was three years old I was riding on the back of my dad's John Deere Model A tractor and Caterpillar bulldozer. It's just not safe!
12. Get plenty of good rest. It may be incredibly tempting to run to the bar for a few mid-week beers with the boys after a marathon session of planting soybeans, but just take it easy. Drinking a sixer of Bud and passing out in your Chevy pickup is not classified as good rest.

Be well and be safe.