Farm Safety: All Work and No Play?

The following post is submitted by Tracy Schlater from Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, a non-profit organization in North America which provides resources and training to individuals and communities to conduct farm safety awareness and education programs. Today’s topic talks about the importance of emphasizing safety while working and in recreation.

In this day and age, most farmers and ranchers are aware of the potential hazards in their line of work. Ask any farmer and they’ll tell you to avoid the power take off while running equipment and to ventilate well when working around manure pits and lagoons. Farmers know how dangerous their work place can be at times.

But what about kids? Safety is a major concern when they are “on the job.” But farms and ranches are one of the only places where the “job site” is in the front yard. Do you make safety a priority when the job site turns into their play ground?

Two-thirds of kids hurt on the farm are not working at the time of the accident.

ATVs were once used strictly for work purposes. Now they serve as recreation – and the source of 17 percent of fatal accidents among kids on the farm. Go back even further and horses were solely used for farm work. Now they too are used for fun. And kids living with livestock have a significantly higher injury rate than those that don’t.

Farming is a 24/7 job. You don’t “clock out” at the end of the day – and the dangers don’t disappear either. You supervise your kids when they’re working. It’s just as important to keep an eye on them when they aren’t.

For more information on tractor safety, visit Farm Safety 4 Just Kids at www.fs4jk.org.

Do you educate your children on the hazards of ATVs and other recreational vehicles?