Farm safety a concern
Special Ag Expo session highlights farm safety practices
The continued importance of farm safety practices was highlighted at a special session at Lethbridge Ag Expo this week. Ag for Life is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting farm safety while promoting the importance of agriculture in people’s lives.
“In particular, we feel it’s very important to have stakeholders involved, and really to work toward a culture of safety,” said Luree Williamson, chief executive officer for Ag for Life.
Much of the focus of Ag for Life involves rural school-age children up to high school with some programming for adults.
According to the Canadian Agriculture Injury Reporting Program and the Injury Prevention Centre, between 1990 to 2012, there was a decrease in Canadian farm populations of 42 per cent. There has been an increase in the age of farmers as well.
“There’s not as many people going into farming,” said Williamson. “And those on the farm are aging.”
The statistics have revealed a pattern in regards to injuries and fatalities.
Between 1990 and 2012, there were 2,324 fatalities in Canada, or an average of 101 agrelated fatalities per year. Between 1990 and 2001, there were 116 fatalities per year.
From 2002 to 2012, the average number of fatalities dropped to 85 per year. This means in 23 years, there was a decrease in the average number of fatalities by 1.1 per cent.
“It’s not huge, but it is a decrease,” said Williamson. “It has been very interesting to watch.”
The Injury Prevention Centre Alberta report from 1990 to 2013 for Alberta cited 422 ag-related fatalities in Alberta, or 18 deaths per year. Over the past 24 years, the overall rates of death in Alberta increased an average of 0.7 per cent.
Williamson said the rates were similar across the country from B.C. to Quebec. In Alberta, children aged 0 to 14 had the largest year-over-year increase in deaths. In Canada, 91 per cent of farm-related deaths were males, and 92 per cent in Alberta.
The highest death rate involved adults 60 years old and older, followed by children age 0 to 14. About 92 per cent of ag-related fatalities were also work-related. In Alberta, that number was 87.7 per cent. During the same time, 21.6 per cent of farm-related deaths occurred when someone was not working but were in proximity to heavy machinery.
Major causes for adult deaths include runovers, rollovers, being pinned, or being struck by large equipment. For children, it was runovers, drownings, rollovers and animal-related incidents.
“We’ve got a lot of open water we need to be concerned about,” Williamson said.
There are four common errors that lead to the majority of farm injuries: rushing, frustration, fatigue and complacency.
Williamson said one of the issues is that a change of perspective needs to take place when people consider farm safety.
“We don’t accept risk,” she said. “We need to reduce it. Going to work everyday on the farm is not a given. It’s not just a risky job. We need to reduce the risk, and we need to control the hazards.”
This means educating farmers and promoting accountability for farm workers to be more safe for themselves and for each other.
“How many of us jump onto an ATV without a helmet while our sons and daughters are watching?” Williamson asked. “And then you’re telling them to put on their helmets? We need to lead by example.”