When you drive onto a farm yard, the golden rule is to always park so that you do not have to back up. If at all possible, you want to always drive forward. This is one of the first rules most companies will teach new employees that visit farms. Even before learning about products, margins and sales skills, employees are taught about safety. No company wants an employee to mistakenly back up over a favorite pet, or even worse, a small child.
Unfortunately, this culture of safety has not transferred to many farms. On farms, we generally are aware of the most dangerous situations like silo gas, PTOs and front-end loaders. However, we haven’t made safety a priority like labor efficiency and cow comfort.
I haven’t heard of farms locally having a weekly safety meeting so all employees can bring up safety concerns. I haven’t seen a bulletin board where employees could post safety concerns.
Would owners and operators welcome these suggestions? Would employees feel comfortable posting these concerns?
So why do I think safety is so important?
1. It saves lives and prevents injuries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2009), farmers and ranchers have the fourth-highest rate of fatal injuries.
The top two were fishermen and loggers; they have reality shows (American Loggers and Deadliest Catch) due to the danger in their jobs.
The third-highest is pilots and flight engineers (OK, this one will make me nervous during EAA). Farmers and ranchers had more fatalities than roofers and steel workers.
And these statistics don’t really tell the story about accidents that are not fatalities. For this, you just need to go to a farm auction and you will quickly notice a few missing fingers and limbs.
2. You are important. I remember hearing about John Jones (nearly became CEO of Packers before his heart surgery) say that men take better care of their car than their bodies.
I think many farmers take better care of their tractors and cows than their bodies. Grandkids and wives will need a grandpa and husband long after the tractor has been sold.
3. Insurance rates. Less important but maybe more motivating is the economic part of the equation. Many insurance companies are beginning to reward farmers for safety training. UW Extension has developed a safety course for skidsteers that may help some farms qualify for lower insurance rates.
4. Liability. At some point, an employee or relative will sue a farm due to injuries or a fatality. For example, research has shown for a long time that there is no economic benefit in having a bull on a farm compared to artificial insemination.
In the tractor safety course, when I’ve asked farm kids how many of them know a relative that has been attacked by a bull, usually a third raise their hands. This is an issue waiting for an attorney.
5. OSHA. In the past, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has not dealt with farms. This will not be true in the future. Any farm that has more than 10 employees falls under OSHA regulations.
They have the authority to inspect farms for employee safety concerns. They will more likely visit farms with complaints or fatalities, but may also inspect farms randomly.
6. Economic impact of injuries. Most employers outside of agriculture embrace a safe workplace because it costs them money not to. Lost work time, workmen’s compensation claims, injuries and retraining new employees are far more costly in the long run than keeping the workplace safe. PD
—Excerpts from University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension newsletter Dairy Frontiers; Volume 4, Issue 5, October 2010
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Paul Dyk
- Dairy & Livestock Extension Agent
- University of Wisconsin Extension
- Email Paul Dyk
