As time goes on, it is easy to get into a routine and just go through the motions when it comes to farm safety. If you’re careful, accidents may not happen often, but farming is dangerous! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), every day around 100 agricultural workers suffer a work-related injury. Even when you are doing everything you can do to make farming safer it is still possible to have an accident. However, being mindful of safety and making it a part of everything you do is critical to your success. A safe farm is a productive farm! Here are some tips to always keep in mind.
Personal Farm Safety
- Never wear loose or baggy clothing around equipment.
- Use safety equipment whenever possible. Precautions like wearing the appropriate gloves, hearing protection, safety eyewear, and facemasks/respirators are simple solutions to many safety concerns.
- Always have someone to help you whenever entering high-risk areas such as grain bins or breeding pens.
- Teach safety procedures to any children that may ever be on the premises. Start them young and set a good example for them.
Buildings and Work Area
- Perform frequent safety checks of equipment, buildings, and the grounds themselves for obvious fire hazards and other hazardous materials.
- Keep farm chemicals locked up where neither children nor animals can get to them. Then make a list of all chemicals and where they are kept for firefighters in case of a fire.
- Keep any areas where you may be driving any vehicles clear of tall weeds, grasses, or any other obstructions to keep a clear line of sight and prevent an accident.
- Always maintain a clean and neat workspace. Make sure any tools you are not actively using are stored out of the way.
Equipment
- Always keep tractor roll-over protection structures in place. If your tractor does not have one, get one installed as soon as possible.
- Prohibit riders on tractor fenders, hitches, attachments, or implements.
- Shield all PTO-powered equipment drive shafts.
- Keep fire extinguishers and first aid kits on tractors at all times.
Livestock
- Keep your animals healthy. An animal that is sick or in pain can act aggressively.
- Avoid the animal’s “blind spot”. Approach the animal from the front or side.
- Avoid loud noises and do not yell around the animals.
- Many injuries occur when a startled animal pins their handler against something. When working with livestock, always know how you are going to get out, especially while working in close quarters.
This list only scratches the surface on farm safety, but these basic tips can certainly prevent a lot of unnecessary problems from happening. For a more complete look at your safety, DFA Insurance offers many safety and loss control services. Farm Safety Specialists are available to do a walkthrough of your farm and make suggestions on how to improve your farm’s safety. Often times it is something small that you never think about that can cause accidents. A fresh set of eyes can be critical to preventing accidents.
Farming is dangerous and even if you take every precaution imaginable, accidents can still happen. In the unfortunate situation that you do experience a serious accident, we are here for you. Our staff can walk you through insurance coverage options before anything happens to ensure that you have the right coverage to address the situations you are at risk for. We also have a claims management team that specializes in agriculture and directly oversees the handling and resolution of all claims. This results in lower claim costs, which works to keep your workers’ compensation insurance costs lower as well.
If you are interested in learning more about any of these services, call DFA Insurance and talk to one of our safety specialists today!