This year marks the 80th anniversary of National Farm Safety and Health Week, which takes place during the third week of September as harvest becomes front and center in the minds of American growers. The week is intended to be a time to increase awareness of the high injury and fatality risk in agriculture and to improve agricultural health outcomes through outreach and education.
The theme for 2024, going on from Sept. 15 to 21, is Don’t Learn Safety by Accident. This was chosen by the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety, which holds daily webinars on a variety of topics, such as equipment and rural road safety, health and wellness, and reporting accidents.
Data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injury shows that the agriculture, forestry, and fishing industries has the highest rate of fatal work injuries compared to other occupations, at 23.5 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers — the majority, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, was due to incidents with transportation or equipment. Preventive education is a key way to reduce the rates of injuries and fatalities on farms and in related workplaces.
This week is also an opportunity to other organizations to emphasize safety materials that they have available. For example, the Center for Dairy Excellence in Pennsylvania has a series of farm safety videos available to help dairy producers share simple safety reminders with farm employees. The Seconds for Your Safety videos, which are approximately 60 seconds in length, are available in both English and Spanish. The cover things such as staying safe around animals, gasses, and electrical hazards; tractor and truck rollovers; and youth on the farm.
The videos are narrated by Katie Dotterer, who is known as AgvoKate on social media.
The Center for Dairy Excellence also has free sets of farm safety signs available to help producers display important safety reminders throughout their facilities.
“Farm safety is important all year long, but September is a good time to refocus and put some extra thought into keeping your employees safe, especially during fall harvest,” said Valerie Mason-Faith, Risk Education Program Manager at the Center for Dairy Excellence. “These
videos are quick and filled with helpful, everyday reminders to share with your team. The safety signs can help you make sure you have the proper safety precautions in place on your dairy operation.”
Farmers are not the only ones being asked to step up awareness at this time. With so many larger and slower vehicles being on the road for harvest season, motorists should take extra caution, especially on rural two-lane roads.
For those interested in the daily webinars during farm safety week, here is the schedule:
Monday, September 16, 2024 – Equipment and Rural Roadway Safety
- 11 a.m.- Noon CDT Skid Loader Safety
- 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. CDT Sharing the Road: Agricultural Equipment and the Driving Public
Tuesday, September 17, 2024 – Health and Wellness
- 11 a.m. – Noon CDT Noise: Bad for My Ears and Heart, too?
- 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. CDT Conversations on Access to Lethal Means
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 – Generations of Farming
- 11 a.m. – Noon CDT Three Step Process to Farm Succession Planning
- 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. CDT Training Future Generations of Farmers through Registered Apprenticeship
- 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. CDT Train the Trainer – No Safe Way to Vape
Thursday, September 19, 2024 – Confined Spaces
- 11 a.m. – Noon CDT Causes of Oxygen Deficiency, Confined Space, and Toxic Fumes
- 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. CDT Grain Related Entrapment: Are We Focusing on the Right Problem?
Friday, September 20, 2024 – Reporting Ag Injuries
- 11 a.m. – Noon CDT It Pays to Talk Safety in Ag
- 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. CDT Using a Novel App Prototype to Assess Heat Stress Risk Among Outdoor Workers
All webinars will have live Spanish interpretation (except for the bonus webinar for ag educators which will take place 3-4 p.m. CT on Wednesday).
The National Education Center for Agricultural Safety also has numerous grain bin safety videos available for free.
