Farm Safety
Wellness with Tara NewsletterJust like our recipes this month, we are focusing this article on how we can help Farmers during their busy time. Since it is planting season, working long hours at a fast pace may cause farm safety to become an issue. It is probably the last thing on a Farmer’s mind right now, but during this season Farmers are particularly at risk. Stress, lack of sleep and long hours will increase a Farmer’s risk of on the farm accidents. According to Farm Safety Ontario the agriculture industry is one of the most dangerous industries in Canada. Having an unsafe environment can cost a business a lot of money. Most Farmers are well aware of the potential of these risks and are doing a great job to make sure their farms are a safe place, but during busy seasons there are added factors at play including hiring new help. The new help may be unaware of the safety measures in place on that farm. Some may be from outside of Canada and their country of origin might have different rules, equipment and regulations. Teaching safety measures can be very time-consuming during a Farmer’s busiest season, so to be helpful we have collected resources with videos and article to aid in teaching farm safety in Ontario.
Safety Topics and Resources
The big topic now is COVID and the government just announced that it is providing $10 million to allow more farmers and agri-food operators to purchase personal protective equipment, enhance cleaning and disinfection and redesign workstations to better protect workers. This announcement was part of the 2021 Budget, Ontario's Action Plan: Protecting People's Health and Our Economy. Enhanced Agri-food Workplace Protection Program
This one is a downloadable teaching tool on road safety regarding farm equipment on public roads Public Road Farm Safety
Here are some resources:
We also talked to a contact from Canadian Agricultural Safety Association that said she would be happy to answer any of your farm safety questions.
Robin Anderson - randerson@casa-acsa.ca