Farm Safety Program Update – Spring 2010

With farms getting geared to swing into planting mode, the issue of Farm Safety comes significantly to the forefront.  Potential hazards lurk in every activity and taking the extra time to ensure safe equipment and practices can save a lot of long term grief.  Equipment that has been sitting idle over the winter, and maybe even since last spring, needs to be checked to ensure that guards are in place, that things are functioning as they should, and that proper lighting and signage is in place before venturing out onto public roadways.  When time is short and work is pressing, it is almost certain that farmers will be in a rush. This is when we need to be safety conscious maybe more than ever.  Don’t cut corners with band aid repairs or by not taking the necessary precautions.  The pain of regret is not worth it.

As mentioned in the Winter issues of AgriMag, the Federation began working on educational material in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture and the Highway Safety Division of the Department of Transportation to raise awareness in the farm community of safety regulations in the Highway Traffic Act that apply to Agriculture equipment and practices which have been identified as issues of non-compliance by the various enforcement agencies.  The design work is pretty close to being completed, and over the next few months it is planned to run an awareness campaign in various PEI publications and to be a presence with educational banners, pamphlets, etc. at as many agriculture exhibits as possible.  Pamphlets will be mailed to farms on PEI, posters will be distributed to agriculture supply and service entities around the Island, audio/visual material will be made available to the various commodity organizations for their use as well as there will be a web page activated at PEIRoadSafety.com for producers to get the details regarding the elements that are the focus of the campaign.

The Canadian Agriculture Safety Association launched Canadian Agriculture Safety Week on March 8th at Kool Breeze Farms in Travellers Rest which drew the attention to the importance of on Farm Safety programs and practices.

The Federation continues to facilitate training sessions for Tractor Safety, Fork Lift Certification, First Aid, and anyone who has interest in this is encouraged to call the Federation office for more details.