6 Ways to Stay Safe This Spring
Spring planting season can be a busy time, so farm families and employees need to be extra cautious. Planning to be safe can make the job go smoother and more efficiently. Follow these tips for a safe planting season.
1. Get Enough Sleep
We know this is a tough one, but sleep deprivation can contribute to more incidents
and injuries on the farm. When workers are fatigued, they make poor decisions about
safety. Get rest where you can and prioritize rest as much as possible.
2. Check Your Equipment
Always do an equipment check before heading out on the road. This includes things
like safety guards, headlights, taillights and hazard signs/SMV emblems, which should
be checked before planting begins. Be sure to fold equipment into a transport position,
even when moving between fields. Make sure all exposed PTO units are properly guarded.
3. Choose Age-Appropriate Jobs
With family farms, it is common for kids and teens to help out. However, giving chores
or tasks that are appropriate to the age and stage of each family member can help
eliminate injuries and risks. Try to involve youth in farm safety projects, inspecting
the farm for obvious hazards, and teaching youth proper safety skills. Never allow
kids or other riders on tractors, farm implements, wagons, or trailers, or inside
the bed of a pickup truck.
4. Check Your Surroundings
This seems like an obvious one but before you begin planting, survey the fields and
make note of any ditches, holes or other hazards. Make sure employees know about them
too. When moving augers and other large equipment, have another person act as a spotter
for you to make
sure you don’t come into contact with power lines. If you are in a piece of equipment
that makes contact, stay in the cab and call for help. Flagging a ditch or washed-out
area could prevent a tractor rollover.
5. Be a Safety Role Model
Develop a safety plan for the farm. Teach proper safety skills to kids and teens and
remember they will mimic what they see their parents and mentors do. Practice what
you preach.
6. Have an Emergency Plan
While no one wants to think about the worst-case scenario, it is always best to know
how to respond in case something happens. Communication is key to preparing an emergency
action plan for your farm. Create maps and lists of access routes, buildings, inventories,
and important locations. Make a full emergency contact list available to everyone
on the farm. Work with your insurance provider to review plans and determine what
emergency supplies you need. Compose action plans for several possible farm emergencies
and go over them with employees and family.