6 minute read
Harvest Safety Feature
Large Equipment Safety
Ag for Life - Submitted
Visiting a farm can be a lot of fun, but they’re also places of work. Large equipment is used in all kinds of rural areas, helping people complete their daily tasks of hauling, digging, planting, spraying, mowing and harvesting. Tractors are well known farming equipment, but they aren’t the only ones. Combines, sprayers, and swathers are all examples of large equipment you could see at work. Implements or attachments, such as seeders, balers, cultivators, front-end loaders, augers, and headers, can also be connected to a tractor or combine to help complete a certain task.
While these machines are very helpful to farmers, we need to remember that they are not toys. Large machines can weigh between three thousand and twenty thousand pounds. That’s more than some elephants! You should never climb on or play around large equipment, even if it’s not moving. These machines can be dangerous if safety isn’t practiced.
In 2006-2015, machines caused 63 percent of child and youth deaths on the farm. Many of these deaths could have been avoided.
Being aware of six key hazards when you’re around large equipment can help keep you safe.
1. Wearing gloves can protect you from burning your hands, but staying clear of the engine and all moving parts is the best way to avoid an injury. Even when a machine is turned off, it can take tie to cool down, so always be cautious.
2. Most farm tractors, combines and swathers have rotating parts that are particularly dangerous. Power takeoffs or PTO’s are one examply. This fast-moving cylindrical shaft is used to power the attachments pulled by a tractor and can spin at 500 rotations per minute; that’s eight full spins a second. There should always be protective coverings on these moving parts, but even with the protective cover on, it’s important to wear tight clothing and tie back long hair to avoid becoming entangle.
3. Tractors are loud, so shouting won’t work if something goes wrong. Instead, be sure you can make eye contact with the driver before coming near equipment. If the driver isn’t looking at you or you can’t see their eyes, it isn’t safe. Create a signal with the driver so they know when you plan to approach.
4. When you’re around moving equipment there’s always the risk of being run over. Blind spots and poor visibility due to darkness or fog are two main causes of run overs. In 2006-2015, 24 percent of child and youth deaths on the farm were caused by run overs. Wearing reflective clothing and keeping to well-lit areas can help you be seen more easily.
5. Sometimes large pieces of equipment can get too close and roll into each other. This is common when trying to hook up an attachment to a tractor. If you’re standing in-between these two pieces of machinery, you can become stuck or pinned when they collide. If you’re directing someone to back up towards another piece of equipment, make sure you’re standing safely off to the side and keeping eye contact with the driver at all times.
6. Rear overturns happen when the front tires of the vehicle lift too high off the ground. Rear overturns are more likely to be fatal because they happen so quickly – only 0.75 seconds to the point of no return. Taking off too fast from a stopped position, hitching to something other than the drawbar or driving up a steep hill can cause rear overturns. Cultivate Safety recommends that only those fourteen years of age or older drive a tractor. If you are outside of the vehicle, avoid being in the path of a rollover by staying clear of all moving equipment, especially if it is near a hill or uneven surface. If you are a passenger, be on the lookout for unsafe ground.
Local Couple's Passion for Farming
Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent
Barry and Bev McCarty have a mixed farm 6.5 miles east of Vegreville on 560 acres. They raise purebred Limousin cattle and sell bulls for breeding and young steers and heifers for meat, chickens for meat and honey from their bees.
They rent their grain land to someone who is growing canola on it. When they were grain farming, the safety tips they followed were checking their machinery often to ensure all shields were secured properly and in place, and they did their work slowly.
Another safety protocol Barry gave is it can be risky to tag calves in the open pastures. He said to make sure to have the protection of a corral or a barn when you do this as sometimes a cow can be protective of their calf. “Most cattle farmers know these things but it is a good reminder for people who have started farming.”
Barry and Bev mentioned that chickens will not normally harm a person. The only thing is to make sure the chickens have feed and water as well as a place to exercise. Then protect them from predators; have a good fence and protection around them. “One year, we lost 60 chickens to a fox. A neighbour told us every morning he saw a fox go by our place with a chicken in its mouth.”
Safety tips for bees are to try not to work on the bees on a cloudy or rainy day as they don’t like those types of weather and they don’t want you to disturb them then. So, don’t open up the hive or move the beehive frames around. Bev explained, “Barry wears a beekeeping suit and if he is working with them, he uses smoke. We have an electric bee yard fence around the bee hives because a bear came around once and they can destroy the bee hives.”
