Farm Safety:

Across the country, county and state Farm Bureaus are making safety a priority through the Agricultural Safety Awareness Program. As part of ASAP, March 2-8 has been designated as Agricultural Safety Awareness Week.  This year’s theme is “Farm Safety: Your Only Passenger.”

During this week and throughout the year, the Montana Farm Bureau is encouraging farmers to practice extra caution when working with tractors, especially with children present—and not to take extra riders.”

 “In farming communities, it’s important to remember one seat means only one passenger,” explains Monica Switzer, chair, Montana Farm Bureau Health & Safety Committee. “Tractors are responsible for 41 percent of the accidental farm deaths of children under 15, yet studies show four out of five farm children regularly ride tractors with family members. We understand that when learning to drive and operate machinery, you have to be in it with them.  We just need to use extreme caution and be aware of what and who is around.”

Switzer explains that a tractor accident can happen in a split second. “Some might think it’s cute to have little ones sitting next to us on the seat or the fender, but it just takes a second for that little one to slip and fall under the wheels of that tractor, long before a foot can be applied to the brake.  It’s happened before! Other than the education factors, there is never a good reason for anyone to be riding double on a tractor, unless there is an extra seat!  Our slogan for our Always Be Careful on the Farm school safety program has always been, ‘No seat, no rider.’”

In addition, all-terrain vehicles are also at fault in deaths and injuries to kids. About 40,000 children under the age of 16 are treated in emergency rooms for ATV-related injuries each year.

A friendly reminder is there are a lot of insurance companies (check your policy) that do not have to cover an injury or accident if they can prove that the owner’s manual was not followed.

“Making safety a priority on the farm can save both lives and resources by preventing incidents, injuries and lost time,” says Switzer. “Be safe. These issues will probably come up again with the child labor laws revisions. Farmers and ranchers need to prove that we can be the best teachers/trainers out there.”

ATV safety tips include:

Always wear a helmet and protective gear—72 percent of children who died in an ATV-related crash weren’t wearing a helmet.

Select the right size ATV—93 percent of child deaths occurred when children were riding an adult-sized ATV because it was too large for them to handle.

Never carry multiple riders --45 percent of ATV-related child deaths involved multiple riders on a single ATV.

Keep ATVs for off-paved road use only. Stay on the trails. 25 percent of child deaths on ATVs occurred on paved roads, many because of collisions with other vehicles.

 Inspect your ATV before each ride.  Visit the National Ag Safety Database for a checklist - http://nasdonline.org/

Agricultural Safety Awareness Program is a part of the Farm Bureau Safety and Health Network of professionals who share an interest in identifying and decreasing safety and health risks. For more information, visit http://agsafetynow.fb.org/.