By Braden Hursh
Whether it is the last bit of snow melting, the flocks of geese returning or exchanging our favourite toque for our favourite hat, the first signs of spring are like the blast of a starting gun for farmers. All the planning and patience of the winter months abruptly comes to a halt as the new growing season has finally begun. After the slow, cold months, the excitement of getting back into the fields can truly be overwhelming for farmers, their employees and their families.
The nature of farming is its endless unpredictability. We cannot accurately predict the price of grain, the weather, the cost of fertilizer and fuel, or the reliability of hired labour. At the end of the day, the main thing a producer can rely on is their own effort and commitment to the profession of farming. This is a blessing and a curse for many farmers as they push themselves to the edge of exhaustion and burnout on a yearly basis, taking personal risks for the sake of speed.
Before we jump headfirst into the seeding sprint, this is the perfect time to remember that accidents happen when we are in a hurry. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Safety on a farm starts and ends with the farmer.
A Paramedic Perspective
I have worked on my family farm in Cabri, Saskatchewan, since I was a child. Now that I am a high school teacher, I use my Easter break, summer holiday and “earned days off” to head back to the farm and help out. But before I became a writer and high school teacher, I worked as a paramedic in Spiritwood and Big River, Saskatchewan. During the busy seasons of seeding and harvest, there would consistently be a spike in accidents and injuries. As always, prevention and preparation are key to reducing accidents, but when something goes wrong, your team needs to know which steps to take.
You can easily Google “How to Stay Safe on the Farm” and find endless lists that essentially remind farmers of things they already know, steps they already take or regulations they intentionally ignore. I will not waste your time with making another similar list. Instead, I’d like to share some of my experiences and the experiences of my paramedic friends to give you real action items to consider.
1. Check your surroundings
The first lesson of every first aid class is to be aware of your surroundings and potential hazards. During seeding season, we are operating huge pieces of machinery such as tractors, sprayers, rollers and seed drills in both transport and work positions. The number one cause of farm fatalities is rollovers and runovers, but we also need to keep ourselves safe when operating on highways, near power lines and around other machinery. With runovers being such a hazard, it is essential that you bring your cellphone with you when you are out of machinery doing in-field repairs and checks in case you become trapped or pinned.
2. Know where you are and communicate
It seems like a strange thing to say, but if you do not know your exact location, help will not be able to find you. At my farm, we have names for quarters and sections of land such as “The Peterson Quarter” or “Harvey’s Quarter” or “The Gopher Section.” If you have an emergency, an ambulance cannot type these descriptions into GPS. Know the land location of the field you are working on, and if you ever call 911, send a pilot vehicle to guide EMS to where they are needed. Most smartphones also have location sharing settings or you can drop a PIN on Google Maps. Keep in touch with your workers through quick text message updates.
3. First aid kits
A first aid kit and the knowledge of basic injuries and medical emergencies is essential. As per safety and health legislation, you are responsible for ensuring that anyone working alone on your farm has immediate access to a personal first aid kit. It may be helpful to keep kits and farmland descriptions in the same spot in your farm equipment. Based on Manitoba’s guidelines, personal first aid kits must contain the following items:
a) 10 sterile adhesive dressings, assorted sizes, individually packaged;
b) 5 10×10-cm sterile gauze pads, individually packaged;
c) A 10×10-cm sterile compress dressing, with ties;
d) 5 antiseptic cleansing towelettes, individually packaged;
e) A cotton triangular bandage;
f) A waterproof waste bag;
g) A pair of impervious disposable gloves;
h) A roll of 2.5-cm adhesive bandage tape.
(I would also include several bottles of saline solution or artificial tears for eye cleaning emergencies.)
Many first aid courses are now offered online or as a hybrid of in-person and online. Getting certified as a first aid care provider is easy and provides important skills for any workplace or home.
By the Numbers
Despite some improvements over the last decade, farming has consistently ranked in the top 10 most dangerous jobs in Canada. Approximately 85 people die each year in Canada because of farm-related incidents. According to the Workers’ Compensation Board of Canada, “The most common cause of fatal injuries are machine-related (66 per cent), with nearly 30 per cent of these being due to machine rollovers and runovers.” One thing that the statistics cannot show is the staggering number of close calls and near misses that happen daily on farms across Canada.
In 2023, Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting (CAIR) released a comprehensive report with data on agriculture-related fatalities between 1990 and 2020, with a particular focus on 2011 to 2020. CAIR is a national surveillance program funded by the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association and co-ordinated by the Injury Prevention Centre at the University of Alberta. The report has shown a decrease in fatalities on a yearly basis, but the report makes it clear that agriculture still has a long way to go when it comes to safety.
It is essential to note that despite the decrease in fatalities on farms across Canada every year, the number of child fatalities has not gone down. CAIR data shows that there have been 435 agriculture-related child fatalities between 1990 and 2021, with nearly two-thirds of those incidents occurring while the child was not working.
It All Starts with You
Safety on the farm begins and ends with the farmer. How you run your operation, the precautions that you take and your attitude towards risks trickles down to your employees and your family members.
When you take a break, your workers will know that taking a break is encouraged. When you take the extra time to do something safely or put on personal protective equipment (PPE), you are setting the example for everyone else.
Take care of yourself and all the people on your farm.
Happy seeding!