Reading Time: 4 minutes After a bit of a slow start, farmers are increasingly turning to AgSafe Alberta for help in reducing the risk of an accident on their operation. “It’s actually really busy — it’s gone from being very quiet to a wave,” said Jody Wacowich, the executive director of the non-profit society created by farm groups in […] Read more
Safety is getting its turn in the spotlight
With new workplace regs in effect, there’s a lineup of producers wanting to make their farms safer
Canadian farms are getting safer — but not fast enough
Safer machinery is saving lives, but farms remain dangerous places to work, says expert
Reading Time: 4 minutes Farms across Canada are becoming safer, but danger still abounds. “We are seeing fewer entanglement injuries and fewer deaths from rollovers — that’s where the big gains are on the technology and engineering side,” said Don Voaklander, director of the University of Alberta’s Injury Prevention Centre. “The other stuff is kind of the same. Falls […] Read more
Does your farm have a ‘safety helmet?’ It should
Taking a few simple steps can create an awareness of safety that is vital on every farm
Reading Time: 3 minutes Under a perfect fall sky, my grandson and I zigzagged the streets and zipped down back alleys of Montreal to the skate park. As I watched my grandson, his seven-year-old bravado struck me. It was a side of this sensitive boy that I had not seen so boldly displayed before. Confident and courageous, he jumped, […] Read more
New provincial safety grant gives farm employers a ‘helping hand’
Grant can offset costs for meeting new workplace safety regulations, which come into effect Dec.1
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new provincial safety grant will make it easier — or at least cheaper — for farmers to comply with upcoming occupational health and safety requirements. “The province recognized that by putting those rules in place, many farms with employees were going to have to do some upgrading or some training to meet those new […] Read more
Farm and safety grants available
Reading Time: < 1 minute Farm and ranch safety grants are being offered to help employers comply with new occupational health and safety requirements that go into effect on Dec. 1. Up to $6 million is available through the program, which runs until March 2021. Farms and ranches with waged, non-family workers and a WCB account may apply for the […] Read more
You’re only human — but are you willing to admit it?
The odds of an accident during the gruelling harvest season go up sharply if you don’t take these safety precautions
Reading Time: 4 minutes Are you getting worn down by the harvest grind? If you didn’t answer ‘yes’ to that question, then you’re either not being honest or you’re missing the signs of fatigue. “It’s not a badge of honour to say how long and how hard and how many days it’s been since you’ve taken a holiday,” said […] Read more
Keep your young workers and children safe at harvest
Don’t assume workers know ‘the basics’ and build a separate safe play area for young children
Reading Time: 1 minute Harvest is the peak season for agricultural-related injuries and fatalities, and new and young workers have a higher rate of injury on the job. “Always take the time to first go through the activity of training the youth, even if it feels repetitive or redundant — this will ensure they learn and practise the safest […] Read more
Furor gives way to compromise on farm safety rules
Farmers were outraged when Bill 6 was introduced in 2015, but years of talks have changed the situation
Reading Time: 3 minutes It began with a firestorm but nearly three years on, the province’s move to impose Occupational Health and Safety regulations on farms is headed for a far different ending. It would be a mistake to roll back workplace safety legislation, said Albert Kamps, a dairy farmer and chair of AgCoalition, an unprecedented alliance of provincial […] Read more
Deadline for 2019 Safety Day events coming up
Application deadline is July 15
Reading Time: < 1 minute The deadline for hosting an event that helps children learn how to be safe on the farm is fast approaching. Since 2002, the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association has partnered with the Progressive Agriculture Foundation on Safety Day events, the largest rural safety and health education program for children in North America. The Progressive Agriculture Safety […] Read more
I can’t change the past, but I wish I could
Taking the kids along when working has long been seen as part of farming, but that needs to change
Reading Time: 3 minutes It was a long and tough winter on the Prairies. Once the sun shone, tractors were serviced, calves were born, cattle sorted, chickens hatched, seeds sown — I delighted in watching the many posts and videos that families shared during this time of rebirth on the farm. And then it hit me. Most included a […] Read more
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