Farm Safety Tips

Sep 20, 2021


This week is National Farm Safety and Health Week, and farmers from all across the state are gearing up for fall harvest. This time can be one of the busiest and most dangerous seasons of the year for the agriculture industry due to bustling workplaces with active, moving machinery and equipment.
 
It’s easy to let proper safety standards slip on a farm task when you have been doing it for so long. However, it only takes one accident to completely change your life. Lower the risk of danger by following these ten farm safety tips:
 
  1. Always conduct a premaintenance check on heavy equipment before using it. Check your tires’ air pressure and make sure the lights are working.
  2. Walk around your equipment before starting it to make sure young children are not hiding in your blind spots.
  3. Ballast your tractor to maximize traction and lessen the risk of tipping over.
  4. Avoid steep terrain when driving equipment.
  5. Plan travel to avoid high traffic times, busy roads, bad weather, and times before daylight or after dark.
  6. Respect other vehicles on the road and use proper safety measures, such as flashing lights, reflective SMV emblems, and/or export vehicles.
  7. Wear your seatbelt!
  8. Use sunscreen while out in the fields to prevent melanomas and other skin cancer conditions.
  9. Don’t become so fatigued that your judgment is clouded. Find time to rest during harvest season.
  10. Never leave your equipment running when not in use. If you have to leave it running, don’t leave it unattended.
 
Even if you are not a farmer yourself, you have a role to play in ensuring farmers’ safety. They work hard to put food on your table, so we need to do our part in keeping them protected. One way we can do this is to slow down and share the road with large farming equipment, staying a safe distance away from them at all times.
 
This week, try keeping these tips in mind and let them become habit for you. Shaving a few minutes off your task time is never worth the risk of a life. Stay safe out there!
 
For more information on National Farm Safety & Health Week 2021, visit The National Education Center for Agricultural Safety website here.
 
For more content like this, check out the latest issue of the Cooperator.

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