Have the ‘S’ talk on your farm

Why now?

Certified Farm Family Coach

Elaine Froese, CSP, CAFA, CHICoach and her team of coaches are here to help you find harmony thro...

We experienced family trauma in October during harvest when a key person crashed a vehicle. It made us all realize we need to have more safety tools and plans in place.

It’s time to do a safety walk around the property and clean up hazards again.

It’s time to fill some ice cream pails with basic first-aid supplies and put them in tractor cabs and mechanics’ workplaces.

It’s time to have safety conversations with farm team members who are aging and who require a few adjustments to what they can safely do on the farm.

Farms that rely on aging labour can find it hard to know when it is the best time and safest decision to tell folks they can no longer work safely. This is having the “S” talk (i.e., safety talk).

We had this experience with my father-in-law after he met a hydro pole with his harrow bar in his late 70s. We did not know at the time he had a brain-shrinking disease.

Another elder employee was badly bruised when he jumped off his tractor, which had caught fire when hydraulics and straw combined in mucky conditions.

Every farm has a story, and we need to change our conflict avoidance. We all want to do good work and feel respected and appreciated for the work we contribute to the success of the farm. Therefore, having a tough conversation about safety requires a few considerations:

1. Safety first. Telling someone their abilities are no longer safe is necessary.

2. Approach. Take the other person’s perspective, use sound listening skills, and ask them to consider the risk to others and themselves if they cannot function safely. We were concerned Dad would hurt himself and possibly others, so he had to stop driving.

3. Create solutions. What jobs can still be performed well? Ask the elder person, “What does a good day on the farm look like to you?” and find new tasks that work.

4. Respect. Use phrases like, “I am just curious; do you realize you did not check all the things you needed to before you started up?”

5. Attack the issue, not the person. Profanity, blaming or accusations are not going to help the situation. “We have a problem here: Your abilities to respond quickly are changing; what do you think is a good adjustment to make?”

My father was very angry with me the day he was no longer allowed to drive (due to his Alzheimer’s), but I was more concerned about his well-being and the well-being of others.

Sometimes you have to be able to accept the hurt and frustration of others in their anger and not take it personally.

These are a few top-of-mind considerations when having this conversation. Go to YouTube and watch the video on Managing Generational Expectations or Google “Farm Family Coach” to learn more tools for talking about tough issues.

Consider using safety resources to help in training and educating others on your team as well.

Canadian Agricultural Safety Association
Safety training video. This video was created by PEI Federation of Agriculture for foreign workers, but I plan to use it with a young teen who is working on our yard. It is only 15 minutes in length, and teens love video.
Farm safety consultation – In Manitoba, you can go online. For others, search your provincial agricultural policy association for what is available in your province.
I have a farm safety box of resources I glean from all of the ag trade shows I attend. Some of those stickers and decals make it to a wall in the farm shop or tractor.

It seems like it is never enough. We can have tons of information in our farm offices, but what time have we blocked off to actually do the training and talking that makes sure every worker on our farm understands and follows our safety culture?

Culture is an invisible glue that holds the farm together; it is what you believe about safety, how you behave by acting in a safe manner and what you decide about following regulations and safety guidelines.

This all hits close to home for us in 2018 as our granddaughter turns 1, and we begin keeping another generation safe on our farm. I remember keeping our toddler son in the safe zone, and now he is the father and the successor on safety watch.

I think the biggest factor in farm safety is your attitude towards being safe and cleaning up hazards or preventing accidents in the first place.

I am a big fan of encouraging good sleep so people are well rested on the job. As a farm family coach, I see toxic farm cultures where people yell and scream at each other rather than acting as mature adults and creating solutions to conflict.

High-stressed families in conflict use way too much emotional energy in a negative fashion that creates distracted management.

I also believe our bodies, mind and spirits need good fuel. That means eating regular nourishing meals, affirming each other and taking care of our mental health on a daily basis.

The Do More Ag Foundation is working to address ways to help farmers cope with depression, stress and anxiety, and know they are not alone.

As a depression survivor, I encourage all farmers who have a genetic history of depression and anxiety to seek out treatment with their medical doctor.

Is it time to have that “S” talk? Make the safety stories on your farm happy ones. Stay safe. Be safe.

Elaine Froese, CSP, CAFA, lives and breathes farming. She also coaches farm families to resolve conflict and make plans for transition. Get your transition plan unstuck with her online course or book her to speak at your fall or winter event.