Make farm safety one of your New Year’s resolutions

Posted

By MARION BARNES

jbrns@clemson.edu

January is the time many folks make personal resolutions for the New Year, but unfortunately by February, many of these resolutions are forgotten.

The New Year’s resolution tradition actually dates back to ancient times. The new year is a good time to reflect and resolve to change or improve our lives. In 2000 B.C., the Babylonians celebrated the new year for 11 days starting with the vernal equinox. One common resolution was to return any borrowed farm equipment. Sounds like a pretty good resolution for an agriculturally-based society. The Romans adopted the Babylonian new year, as well as the tradition of resolutions. The timing was eventually shifted to the month of January which, by the way, was named for the two-faced god Janus, who looks forward for new beginnings as well as backward for reflection and resolution.

One New Year’s resolution farmers should consider and keep is to make your farm a safer place to live and work. Farm safety is not something that you can address one time and be done with it. It is a continual or ongoing process. There are situations when a mechanical fix such as replacing worn, damaged or missing safety guards or shields on a piece of equipment will correct the hazard.

One of the most important aspects about farm safety is developing the correct attitude concerning safety on your farm. Begin by creating a safe work environment for you, your family members, and your employees.  The following are a few areas where most farm need a little attention:

• Cleanup the clutter. Organize your shop or farm shed by properly storing tools and equipment.

• Replace missing or worn SMV (slow moving vehicle) emblems on equipment. SMV emblems can become faded, weather or lost over time.

• Inspect lighting, flashers and wiring on tractors and other farm equipment. It’s important to make sure your equipment is highly visible to motorist when you travel on the highway.

• Replace or repair missing, damaged or worn shields or guards on farm equipment and machinery.

• Refresh your memory by reading the operator’s manual for your equipment. Information contained in these documents will remind you how to safely operate and maintain your farm equipment.

• Resolve to use personal protection equipment (PPE’s). Whether it’s a lifeline and safety harness when you climb or enter grain bins, personal protection equipment when mixing or loading pesticides, or impact-resistant eye wear when working in the shop. Find what works best for you, meets safety standards and use them.

• Parents and caregivers must realize that a farm is a dangerous industrial workplace, and they should take precautions to protect children who live on and visit the farm.

• Develop a farm emergency response plan. Ensure that you and your employees know what to do, who to contact in the event of a farm emergency.

• Provide regular safety training for family members and workers. Taking a few minutes once a week or at least monthly to discuss a safety topic will keep safe working habits on everyone’s mind and in their working routines.

• Resolve to set the example when it comes to farm safety by “practicing what you preach” so to speak. 

This is by no means a complete list and you are probably doing a lot of things to promote safety around your farm. There are many more safety-related areas one could list for New Year’s resolutions, so I challenge everyone to create their own farm safety resolutions and make 2021 a safer year on your farm. Happy New Year!

For more information on farm safety contact your local Clemson Extension Office, 843-549-2595.

(Marion Barnes is a senior county agent with the Colleton County Clemson Extension.)