I head to the calf barn in the morning dressed in pants, a sweatshirt and a stocking hat. My attire for afternoon feeding includes a T-shirt and shorts. This can only mean one thing: Fall has arrived.
Along with fall on the dairy farm, there are choppers making corn silage, the fall calving group of cows giving birth, school is back in session and the manure pit is being emptied. Other famers are getting the combines greased up, doing some fall tillage, planting winter wheat or tagging beef calves daily. As we enter this season on the farm, it’s important to keep safety in mind. Every September, organizations take the opportunity to remind farmers and educate the general public during National Farm Safety Week.
As I type, we are in the midst of National Farm Safety week (every third week of September). A handful of years ago, I applied for and received a grant from Successful Farming to make some safety improvements on our farm. One of the best ways to learn is from each other. I want to share with you some of the safety potocols we implemented back then.
As part of the safety grant, we had the opportunity to participate in a farm safety inspection tour. Our sons were young then, but we made sure they participated in the tour so they could learn about some of the hidden dangers we had.
1. Feed and grain bins
These bins can be dangerous if you fall off the ladder. Kids like to climb. To prevent climbing, it was suggested to cover the ladder so they couldn’t. One simple suggestion was to take scrap wood and make something that would cover two to three rungs on the ladder. Then drill holes and use zip ties to secure it.
Feed and grain bins with ladders can be a hazard for kids on the farm. Photo by Christina Winch.
2. Equipment inspection
During the inspection tour, there was a checklist for every piece of equipment. If the equipment failed inspection, a red tag was placed on it. That means you are not supposed to use it until the safety issues are fixed. We had one piece get red tagged, our IH 706. It did not have a roll over protection structure (ROPS). We found one at an antique tractor dealer in Kentucky that had a canopy. No more red tags on it.
3. Hydraulic hoses
When hooking up hydraulic hoses, it can be challenging to know which hose to plug in where. We color-coded the tractor and equipment using electrical tape.
Color-coded electrical tape on hydraulic hoses can take the guesswork out of plugging them in. Photo by Christina Winch.
Maybe one of the ideas can help you improve safety on your farm. I wish everyone a safe and healthy harvest.
