Reading Time: 4 minutes The Farm Freedom and Safety Act doesn’t give producers freedom from making sure their employees make it home safe and sound at the end of every work day. That’s the gist of a new campaign by AgSafe Alberta, which is trying to correct a misconception that Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) laws don’t apply to […] Read more
What does the new farm safety law mean on your farm?
There are more options under Farm Freedom and Safety Act but farm employers have the same basic obligations
Alberta’s new farm safety act gets warm response
New act exempts most Alberta farms from workplace rules, removes right to unionize
Reading Time: 3 minutes There were no surprises when the United Conservative government unveiled its new farm workplace safety legislation — and that’s one of the things that farm leaders like about it. “It’s making farming easier,” Alberta Canola chair John Guelly said in contrasting the new legislation with the contentious version brought in by the previous NDP government. […] Read more
Farm safety program for youth receives funding
Reading Time: < 1 minute A $10,000 grant from Corteva Agriscience will support the development and delivery of Ag for Life’s Safety on the Farm for Youth module. The interactive online course can be used in the classroom to teach students how to build a personalized farm safety plan while learning safety tactics. The plan will be available in both […] Read more
Alberta ag minister says he got the message on workplace safety laws
Devin Dreeshen says new workplace safety law will have ‘have some common sense attached to it’
Reading Time: 4 minutes He made 25 stops across the province, met with more than 1,000 farmers, put over 8,000 kilometres on the truck and drank countless cups of coffee. Devin Dreeshen has been a busy man during his first summer as provincial agriculture minister and he’s promising a replacement workplace safety law is introduced this fall. “What we’ve […] Read more
Producers and their farm workers urged to take workplace safety survey
The new government wants views and suggestions before introducing the Farm Freedom and Safety Act
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers, ranchers, and their workers are being asked by the provincial government what they would like to see in new farm workplace safety legislation. The United Conservative government says it plans to introduce the Farm Freedom and Safety Act this fall “to put choice back in the hands of farmers and have legislation that reflects […] Read more
Don’t get trapped — bring a buddy when unloading grain from bins
Most people trapped in grain don’t survive, but a few simple steps can greatly reduce the danger
Reading Time: 4 minutes Of all the dangers involved in unloading grain bins, grain entrapment is indisputably one of the most perilous. A routine entry into a bin to shovel some resistant grain can become deadly in a matter of seconds if the auger — and thus the flow rate — stays active. “One of the main things we […] Read more
Opinion: An open letter to Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen
To be effective, farm safety education must be part of the regular curriculum in elementary schools
Reading Time: 3 minutes Following your appointment as Alberta’s agriculture minister, you were praised for being “smart, grounded, and ‘a stand-up guy.’” Let’s hope everything I’ve read about you will prove true. But based on past experience, I am somewhat cynical, as I have asked your predecessors to take action on embedding effective farm safety within the elementary curricula… […] Read more
When we rush to help, we can put ourselves at risk
When livestock get into trouble, we need to consider how quickly a rescue mission can go wrong
Reading Time: 3 minutes The abundance of new life on the farm at this time of the year leads to a lot of antics on the part of animals. It is wonderful to watch the babies get busy with play we call ‘horsing around.’ Calves and foals are romping, the first chicks are peeping, the piglets are squealing. Big […] Read more
Get a grant to hold a Safety Day event
Reading Time: < 1 minute There’s still time to apply for funding to put on a Safety Day event this year for children in your area. Each year, communities across Canada host Safety Day events — reaching approximately 17,000 young people annually. Participants learn about the hazards and risks associated with farming and rural life. The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association […] Read more
Safety is the new norm at Will Farms
Elaine Bellamy says not having a farm safety plan is a risk you simply can’t afford
Reading Time: 4 minutes Elaine Bellamy suspected she had her work cut out for her when the provincial government announced its plans to improve farm safety in the fall of 2015. So in January 2016, just as the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act was coming into effect, Bellamy attended a workshop on creating a farm safety […] Read more
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