Sheila Bautz
Special to the Herald
The Saskatchewan agriculture industry is a fast-paced environment during critical times of the year on a family farm operation.
With mounting pressure on agriculture producers to seed and yield returns on crops in various conditions, the potential for fatal incidents to occur heightens. Statistics reveal that farm children and youth are the highest casualties.
“About every three days, a child dies in an agriculture-related incident, and each day, at least 33 children are injured,” reports the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety (NCCRAHS). “During the past decade, youth worker fatalities in agriculture have exceeded all other industries combined.”
The most fatal incidents in the agriculture industry occur from spring throughout early autumn on the prairies. In Saskatchewan, danger zones have been identified on farming operations as hazard areas. Preventable measures can be put in place to ensure that potential injury and fatalities on the farm do not occur.
Serious injury and fatal incidents occur when children, particularly of pre-school years, are left unsupervised in unsafe environments. Youth entering their teens are also vulnerable when expected to complete farm tasks they are not cognitively and physically able to perform.
“Children and teens are often at greater risk of injury than adults. They typically have less physical strength, shorter reach, and lack the coordination and balance of adults,” explained NCCRAHS.
Cognitive maturity is an often-overlooked factor for youth, particularly when it comes to operating hi-tech machinery, or any specialized training, such as working with large livestock. To prevent life altering incidents on the family farm, it is important to realistically and accurately determine if a child or youth can perform the farm work duties to the ability required.
“Cognitively, it takes them longer to process information, they have shorter attention spans and may lack the impulse control that adults have. They are also more likely to do what they see others doing, rather than what they are told,” explained NCCRAHS.
In Saskatchewan, many resulting injuries to children and youth are related to large livestock involving cattle and horses. Equally dangerous are preventable rollovers on various types of machines and equipment. According to investigative experts, the vast majority of past farming injuries and deaths were preventable.
Preventative measures require taking the time to assess the work environment, the equipment, and the abilities of every member of the family involved in the farming operation. Once assessed, it is crucial to be proactive. The appropriate changes required to protect children and youth from serious incidents must be a top priority on a busy farm. Ideally, regular assessments will become a routine before and during the seeding, haying and harvesting months.
Child safety: check & change list
The National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety (NCCRAHS) advises, “Protect the most important thing you’ll ever raise… Do all you can to make your farm safe for children. Keep young children out of the worksite and off equipment (no extra riders) by creating areas for safe play.”
The most frequent incidents of child fatalities involve being run over by machinery and drowning. While children are young, creating a safe play area with a chain link fence or back yard fence is important. Safe play areas that contain active children serve as a protective barrier that prevents them from wandering off or rushing out in front of vehicles and large machinery. Another high incident risk is that children are run over by harrows, balers and tractors.
No matter how tempting, do not allow children to be passengers in equipment. Make it a strict rule that children do not ride along on open cab machinery. This includes tractors, lawn mowers and swathers. Lawn mowers and swathers pose additional safety risks with their sharp blades. As well, lawn mowers have a tipping inclination on steep inclines.
Ensure that livestock pens are off limits for children, until they are mature enough to be properly trained and equipped to handle large livestock. Supervision is required when children and youth are working with large animals.
Drownings are a high risk on family farms. Livestock troughs and five-gallon pails of standing water pose another hazardous risk. As toddlers are top heavy, there have been drownings of toddlers in five-gallon pails. Other areas of water hazards include dug outs, lagoons, slews, water wells with removable lids and ground septic tanks. Dug outs and lagoons require a secure chain link fence, or a tall slab fence, for a safety barrier.
Augers create potential hazards, as well as grain bins filled with grain that act like quicksand. Never allow children to climb into grain bins or jump into grain filled truck beds. Harvested grain crops can quickly bury and suffocate a child, youth or adult.
Square bale stacks create safety risk conditions for children who are allowed to play on them. Round bales, particularly when being unloaded, have a crushing power as they weigh between 900 to 2400 pounds.
Ensure that all hazardous chemicals, pesticides and animal medications are stored in a secure and locked cabinet or building. There are various safety requirements for handling these substances and chemicals that require the proper safety training. They also require safety equipment, such as masks.
In addition, many farms are diverse with other businesses, such as welding shops and mechanics. This naturally brings further potential safety risks for children. For instance, such risks include walking into a welding shop and experiencing welder’s flash.
Ensure that children have proper supervision and childcare, on and off the farm. When possible hire a non-farming friend to take care of the children during busy time. Another option is to organize a community arrangement to share care children in a child friendly environment.
Youth Safety: Guidance Check List for Maturing Future Farmers
Many young farmers require the proper age-appropriate training for any farm work task that they are instructed to do. Proper training and work safety attire is required for youth before they enter the farm worksite. It is also important to keep in mind the limitations they have in their cognitive and physical abilities.
Repetition about safety is key, even if it annoys your teenager. Youth who are old enough to be around machinery must know how to shut off the machine they are operating, including in an emergency. It is important to remember that youth farm workers may not be inclined or mentally mature enough to identify risks in the farming worksites or remember the rules of the work role that they are expected to carry out.
“Be a parent first, farmer second… Assign farm tasks consistent with the youth’s age and abilities,” NCCRAHS advises.
Overhead powerlines continue to be one of the most dangerous farming safety concerns. Power arcs. It is crucial for everyone to be educated on the potency of powerlines. Fatal incidents as a result of machinery and overhead powerlines is preventable. SaskPower provides invaluable information for the agriculture industry on powerline safety measures.
When there is pressure during hectic moments on the farm, it is important to stop for a short break at that time. Pausing for a moment before continuing a task can bring a moment of clarity that prevents an incident. There is no urgency so great as to protect farming families and members of our community in order to get a crop off the field. Deadly incidents can be prevented.
Adults: mentorship is a tradition that sets the example
Many life endangering situations are foreseeable and preventable. Make periodic overall assessments of a farming work environment and equipment a routine. By ensuring that safety measures are a top priority with the same urgency and energy that is placed into farming tasks will save lives and prevent injuries.
Ensure there are roll bars on open cab machinery and that the machinery is maintained. Keep any machinery well maintained, wear seatbelts, and ensure that emergency switches are operational and functional.
Do not wear loose fitting clothing or jewelry that can entangle in belts or augers. Be sure to wear protective gear such as masks, goggles, hard hats, steel toed boots. Youth who are capable of a farming task require the same work gear as an adult.
Mentorship is a tradition. Farmers and ranchers are professionals in the agriculture industry who provide produce to feed the world. They are also parents and mentors for children and youth who seek their guidance. Children and youth worry about their parents and their safety also. As a parent, it is a duty to protect them. By being a great role model who leads by example, farming families ensure everyone’s safety.
The Farm Stress Line is always available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to assist you with coping in the high-pressure farming occupation. Farm Stress Line is Toll Free at 1-800-667-4442. In the case of a farming incident, call 911 FIRST.
