By Tracey Arts, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

With the weather warming up, farmers start to become eager to hit the fields and get spring planting underway. That’s still a few weeks away, though, so now is a great time to give some thought to staying safe and healthy as we go about our daily jobs and lives on the farm. After all, for us the farm isn’t just a workplace, it’s also where we live and raise our families.

It’s particularly relevant right now because March 10 to 16 is Canadian Agricultural Safety Week, an annual event that focuses on increasing awareness of farm safety, sharing resources and promoting the importance of developing best practices and farm safety plans.

My husband and I are dairy farmers in Oxford County. A farm can be a hazardous workplace so it’s important to know where the dangers are. For us that means not just being careful ourselves, but also making sure our employees have the training they need, whether it’s safely disposing of needles in a sharps container, or knowing where the blind spots are when driving a tractor or a skid steer.

We also have two young boys, so we’ve taken great care to teach them about safety as they grow but in a way that lets them be involved in the activities on the farm and doesn’t stifle their natural curiosity about our animals and equipment. The older they get, the more they want to help so it is critical for us to teach them how to do things properly and safely – and to ensure they have respect for the hazards that livestock, tools and machines can represent.

At a high level, farm safety is about knowing what to on the farm to avoid accidents and injuries – and not just during busy times like planting or harvest but anytime you’re working with equipment or livestock.

That means keeping equipment fixed and up to date, taking a break when you’re tired or fatigued, and not cutting corners when you’re in a rush. When working, shut down equipment before making adjustments or dislodging a blockage, keep safety guards in place and don’t let kids play around work sites or near equipment. Have a first aid kit and emergency contact numbers handy and take a charged phone with you when you head out for the day.

On our roads, there are too many accidents involving vehicles and farm equipment every year, and both farmers and motorists have a role to play in keeping our roads safe. Farm equipment is larger than it used to be, and many rural roads have narrow shoulders, making it difficult if not impossible for farmers to pull off to the side and let motorists pass safely.

Road safety is a shared responsibility, but anyone driving slow moving vehicles should be alert for drivers anxious to pass you at unexpected times. Watch carefully when turning onto public roadways and making left turns across traffic, and use your slow-moving vehicle sign, lights, taillights and signals to make your equipment as visible as possible to other motorists.

It’s not just physical safety that matters, though. As our farms become more connected, it’s critical that we also think about the safety of our data and our online systems. There is no such thing as 100% security, but using current software and systems, training employees to recognize threats, backing up data and using strong passwords that aren’t shared will help minimize risk.

Finally, research has helped draw attention to the high levels of stress that farmers face and the importance of emotional and mental health. The Farmer Wellness Initiative is a key resource that can provide when it’s needed most. If you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed, you can access support at 1-866-267-6255, with additional resources available at farmerwellnessinitiative.ca.

For more information, contact:

Tyler Brooks
Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-821-8883 ext. 218
tyler.brooks@ofa.on.ca