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Safety of workers is very important, but when a young child of a farm family is injured in the farm workplace… I leave it up to you to think about the consequences for you and your family. Why do such accidents occur and how can they be avoided?
First a few facts. The Western Producer reports that while there is a reduction of youth injuries on the farm, the death rate from farm youth accidents is unchanged. So while injury numbers have dropped, indicating an improvement in child safety, the most severe injuries are unchanged. It is reported that between 2003 and 2012 in Canada, 843 children died as a result of agriculture-related incidents, and 570 (68%) of those incidents occurred from May to October. That is one child death on a Canadian farm every 4 days. This means the farm workplace is a very hazardous place for children and we all need to recognize and improve the need for safety initiatives for children on the farm. What happens to cause these child deaths?
Most child deaths are the result of using tractors, ATVs and motorized vehicles. Some are caused by “grain engulfment” and drowning. Focusing on tractor and ATV injuries, we can assume the child deaths are caused from the falls when there are multiple riders on tractors, ATV rollovers, and being struck by vehicles.
A recent court case in Ontario convicted a father of criminal negligence causing death of his child in a ‘bobcat loader’ mishap. The incident occurred on the farm, where the father, 32, allowed his four-year-old son to take a ride in the bucket of the bobcat. The child suffered a fatal head injury after falling out of a bucket and being struck by the bobcat, while his father wasn’t looking.
In sentencing the father, the judge found that the father would never risk his children’s lives again. The grief and remorse of the father were not questioned by the judge. The judge noted the father had made safety improvements on his farm and others in his community had done the same. The judge placed a 10 year ban on the father driving and assigned counselling and community service time - aimed at educating others in the farm community about child safety and the tragic incident on the father’s Ontario farm.
What can you do on your farm? The National Children’s Centre in the US suggests the following:
- Keep kids away from tractors. Currently four out of five farm children regularly ride on tractors.
- Keep young children out of the worksite.
- Recognize that ATVs and ‘bobcats’ are hazardous for youth.
- Develop a safe play area on the farm.
- Ensure work is age appropriate.
- Ensure the environment is as safe as possible.
- Eliminate distractions (i.e. cell phones).
- Provide training for work tasks and pose safety questions for impulsive teenagers to engage their thinking actively about safety.
- Provide training, monitor, and provide feedback on safety.
- Model safe behaviours (show them by doing) - your children will follow your lead.
Applying these common sense initiatives can save a life - your child’s life - on your farm. There is also lots of information, great ideas and help for you on how to improve farm safety for your children. AgSafeBC is a great place to start to review and learn more about farm safety. AgSafe is not a regulator; their business is education and providing assistance to you to ensure your farm is as safe as it can be.
Here are some ways that AgSafeBC can help:
- AgSafe has a great online site, agsafebc.ca
- Free materials, such as safety signs, handbooks,forms etc. - in multiple languages, On-line courses, Arranging an On-site safety course, Tree fruit industry specific templates agsafebc.ca/industry-resources/orchards/
- AgSafe offers free on-site consultations (1-877-533-1789)
- AgSafe offers the Certificate of Recognition (COR) Program that is a self-review of your farm safety initiatives which gets you a reduced WorkSafeBC premium.
With so many tools and so much free assistance, it is easy to become confused or complacent about farm safety. However, keeping our children safe on the farm should be the biggest motivator we have to ensure our farms have safe farm practices. The Ontario father involved in the tragic accident of his child would agree, do not wait until it is too late - make farm safety a priority and start every day thinking about improving farm safety.
Glen Lucas, General Manager, BCFGA