Spring Time and Farm Safety

With the busy seeding season approaching, now is a great time to review and plan for farm safety with all members of the farm family, including children and employees.

The Canadian Agriculture Injury Reporting program has documented some disturbing statistics.  The number of children under the age of 15 years killed on Canadian farms between 1990 and 2004 was 209 and 1,886 children were hospitalized between 1990 and 200 from farm related injuries.  The highest fatality risk age group is for children under 5 years of age.  Falling from heights, animal interaction and entanglement are the 3 most common causes of injuries for children.

Statistics Canada has reported that on average 115 people are killed and at least 1,500 are hospitalized or injured in Canada from farm related accidents.  Machinery and livestock are the most common injury related accidents.  In recent years 13,800 Canadian farms have reported at least one injury from a farm related accident.

Farming is a dangerous business, don't let your farm be included in these statistics - Plan Ahead!

Farm Safety Planning does not have to take a lot of time.  There are many programs and resources available to ensure that you and your farm are fully prepared.

Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development offers a Farm Safety Program that is free of charge to all Albertans.  They also have a grant program available for communities or groups that want to host a farm safety event.  Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development has many other farm safety resources available:

• The Farm Employer's Guide to Job Orientation and Safety Training
• Rural Emergency Plan (REP)
• Safety Training (course)
• Farm Safety - It's No Accident (CD & DVD)

Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development offer other safety advice and tips, such as:

• Place emergency information and phone numbers next to each phone.  Some of the information to include is; emergency phone numbers (fire, poison, ambulance, 911); the farm's legal land description; specific direction to the farm including km's, range road numbers or names; GPS coordinates (if available)
• Always keep the emergency or first aid kit(s) fully stocked and include a First Aid Manual.  Everyone on the farm should know where the emergency or first aid kit(s) are located.

For more information please visit the Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development's website at www.agriculture.alberta.ca/farmsafety.

The Farm Safety Kid's Club is sponsored by Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development and is for children under the age of 12.  Children can join the Farm Safety Kid's Club and receive a newsletter every four months.  The newsletter is full of activities and helps children understand and become involved in farm safety.

The Alberta Farm Safety Centre is a not-for-profit organization.  They develop and deliver educational materials promoting safe agriculture practices to rural classrooms and various community events.  In 2008 & 2009 they were able to reach over 47,000 rural students in 2355 classrooms throughout Alberta.  Their goal for the 2009 & 2010 school year is to teach 60,000 students in 550 rural schools.  For more information about this program please visit the website at www.abfarmsafety.com.

Spring Time and Farm Safety

The Government of Alberta has recently announced that it is providing $715,000 to Alberta Agriculture Societies to promote farm safety.  Eligible Agriculture Societies will receive $2,500 to provide farm safety training in their community.  For more information please visit www.agriculture.alberta.ca.

For more farm safety information, training material or resources, please contact one of the following groups:

St John's Ambulance - 1-800-665-7114

Agriculture in the Classroom - www.aitc.ca

Agriculture Health and Safety Network - www.cchsa-ccssma.usak.ca/ahsn/index.php

Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture - www.cchsa-ccssma.usask.ca

Canadian Farms with Disabilities Registry - www.fwdcanada.com

Canadian Federation of Agriculture - www.cfa-fca.ca

Canadian Safety Council - www.safety-council.org

Farm and Ranch Safety and Health Association - www.farsha.bc.ca

3M Farm Safety - www.3M.com/CA/farmsafety