Apr 21, 2011

Safety on the farm doesn’t happen by accident

It’s the bottom of the ninth inning; the home team is down by one run; there’s a player on third base waiting to come home for the tie and a player on second hoping to come home for the win. The batter hits the ball sharply, just past the second baseman. The runners drive for home.

“Safe!” says the umpire once. “Safe!” he says the second time. The home team wins. The game is over and victory is celebrated.

Coming home safe. Easy to take for granted. Easy to think of as something that will always happen without intentional planning and management. Far too easy to forget that one tragic, even fatal, split second can changes life forever. In baseball, coming home safe and winning the game are the result of skill, training, practice and good management. Winning baseball clubs never leave winning to chance or luck. The same discipline should be true of safety for every agricultural operation, from the smallest part-time grower to the largest multinational enterprise.

Statistically, farming is considered a dangerous occupation. According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), farmers and ranchers have the fourth highest fatal injury rate among occupations, with only fishing, logging and aviation being higher! Because of this, there is tremendous pressure from state and federal officials to expand and increase regulation and enforcement activity into production agriculture. DOL and others are currently working on plans to expand Occupational Health and Safety (OSHA) regulations and enforcement into production agriculture, and to re-write federal standards regulating employment of non-family youth in agriculture.

When confronted with the statistics, it is difficult to adequately explain the uniqueness of agriculture in a 30-second sound-bite when asked why someone under 18 cannot work in a mine or factory, but can be employed on a farm.

Agricultural accidents kill or maim our friends, neighbors and family members every year. The personal costs and family tragedies are terrible enough, but every time young people are killed or maimed, we lose part of the future of agriculture.

Every accident we read about pushes us closer to more regulatory burdens. These costs are only added to the terrible burden everyone who has experienced such an accident carries with them for the rest of their lives.

“Safety is no accident.”

“Nearly all accidents are preventable.”

These are true statements, and everyone has a responsibility to take the necessary precautions to prevent agricultural accidents – for yourself, your family and friends and the future of agriculture. In addition to personal/family considerations, as employers, you have both the moral and legal responsibility to provide a safe workplace, proper training, the necessary safety equipment and programs and to require everyone to participate.

Federal legislative and regulatory proposals expected later this year will impact agricultural safety. They include: DOL’s notice of proposed rule making on youth employment in agriculture; DOL proposals to expand some provisions of OSHA into production agriculture; Congressional budget cuts that will continue to threaten agricultural health and safety Extension, education and outreach funding.

The National Council of Agricultural Employers and others continue to monitor and lobby these issues to promote favorable outcomes for American agriculture. NCAE will draft comments on proposed regulation, work with allies on Congressional funding and other actions and call on individual growers to provide input to Congress and the agencies to educate them on the uniqueness and importance of agriculture.

Safety does not happen by accident. It is always the result of intentional planning. It does not result from writing or adopting a one-time plan, but requires a relentless commitment to creating a culture of safe work in every aspect of your operation. NCAE and other organizations participate in many state, regional and national associations that work directly on safety research, education and outreach. I serve on the board of one such group, the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA). Visit the ASHCA website (www.ashca.com), NCAE’s website, your insurance provider or your state Extension sites for detailed information to conduct your own safety audits and to make deliberate safety plans for your own operation.

America needs you, your family, your employees and the next generation of agriculture working and growing to feed the world, not populating DOL accident statistics!

By Frank Gasperini

Frank Gasperini can be contacted at the National Council of Agricultural Employers.

Click here to email him.