Farm safety on the radar

Iwas a kid. The situation demanded speed and instinct, both of which I was still developing. I looked up. The tractor towing me had stopped. I hadn’t been paying attention. The tow rope was short. I was careening towards the back end of this machine. I knew I had to do something, but in that moment of panic, my instincts misfired and went silent. I was young, after all.

The driver noticed this unfolding tragedy and quickly started moving forward to avoid the collision.

The rear lugs of the tractor in front of me caught the front end of the small, opencab tractor I was driving. The driver stopped. My front end was nearly 90 degrees. A few more inches and the tractor would have flipped.

The driver backed up, my tractor slipped off the lugs and bounced to the ground. I stepped off my tractor. He got out of his. And we both took a few deep breaths.

This particular close call exists as a series of still images in my memory. One such tableaux is the tractor’s instrument panel, clutch and brake. The next captures the inevitability of collision. Then the one of me and the tractor I was driving pointing toward the sky.

It’s one example of a lengthy list of near misses. They all could have been disastrous, if not fatal. And they are all worth noting, recording, remembering.

About 85 Canadians are killed in farm-related incidents every year. That figure doesn’t include injuries, reported or unreported. And that figure certainly doesn’t include close calls.

Many agricultural policy groups are pushing for increased safety protocols on farms. And rightly so. It’s a focus that is receiving significant pushback from growers, some of them claiming that such measures get in the way of their farm’s workflow. Farm specific safety plans are being seen as unnecessary red tape, as it it’s better to roll the dice than implement preventive safety protocols.

This is not the case. They are important. Very important.

The machines farmers operate are large. And the things producers find themselves doing on a regular basis in order to keep every aspect of their farms running smoothly during the growing season regularly puts them at risk of an accident.

As of now, most farmers don’t consider near-misses something worth pausing over. I’m guilty of this. Too often farmers liken the avoidance of a near accident to sharp instincts, and a keen awareness of our surroundings.

It’s the end of March. The snow is beginning to thaw, and the farm will soon wake up from its winter stasis.

According to statistics published in a report by the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, most of the reported accidents occur between the months of May and October.

My instincts don’t misfire and go silent very often anymore. They are actually quite sharp and responsive by now. When this farm is busy, there are machines and trucks driving by my house every few minutes. It’s normal. But even the most calloused farmer to whom implementing safety protocols seem laughable will think and look twice before trusting the puny side-view mirror attached to his or her tractor.

It’s misguided and hubristic to believe near-misses are anything more than luck. And, bravo to the farmers who are taking steps to make their yards and operations safe for those working on them and for those visiting.