11 Tips for Farm Safety

11 Tips for Farm Safety

Updated June 4, 2016 . AmFam Team

When planting and harvesting time comes around, keep safety top of mind! Read these tips for a productive and stress-free spring and autumn.

You know your farm like the back of your hand. And, when it comes to protecting your livelihood, you know that safety is number one.

As a farmer, it’s important you’re aware of all the risks on your farm in order to promote and practice the best safety measures to keep you, your workers and your family safe. Keep safety a priority on your farm with these 11 tips.

Your Guide for a Safer Farm

Dress for success. Prepare yourself for the job at hand by choosing appropriate clothing and safety gear. If you’re using chemicals, use chemical respirators, wear proper gloves and protective clothing. When working with farm equipment, avoid wearing loose fitting clothes around moving parts, and if you’re around running machinery, wear hearing and eye protection. Don’t forget to always use masks to filter dust and mold.

Know your chemicals. It’s common for different chemicals and pesticides to be used on a farm. To stay safe, it’s important to know what you’re working with. There are courses you can take to learn safe handling of chemicals and pesticides. In fact, your state may require training and certification to lawfully perform this kind of work. Remember, chemicals can get into your body through skin, breathing, eyes or swallowing — so always be mindful and wear protective equipment when working with them.

Prepare for the road. If you’re driving farm equipment on public roads, it’s especially important that you’re clearly marked so motorists can see you in time to slow down — considering you’re probably driving less than 25 MPH. Make sure your lights are working and that all reflecting tape and slow-moving vehicle (SMV) emblems are properly placed. Remember to wipe down some of these safety features if your equipment is dusty to ensure they can be seen.

Tractor safety. You might use your tractor more than any other equipment on the farm, so understanding the risks associated with this heavy-duty piece of equipment is extra important. Don’t start your tractor in a closed garage or shed, since carbon monoxide (CO) could cause harm to you or your animals. It’s important to keep it in a well-ventilated place and have open doors or windows when starting it. Make sure to wait for a hot engine to cool before re-fueling your tractor. And, remember, most tractors have one seat. This means one operator, so no extra riders (even kids) should be allowed in or on the tractor (unless it’s manufacture equipped with a second seat and seat belt).

Air it out. Be aware of silo gas when heading in to chop and place corn silage. Ventilate silo headspace at least 30 minutes before entering to remove concentrations of harmful — or lethal — gas. And never enter if alone! Methane gas, carbon dioxide, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide can form in unventilated grain silos and manure pits. This can poison you, cause suffocation or even explode. It’s worth it to slow down and take the time to prevent harmful damage.

Avoid electrical accidents. Always err on the side of caution when it comes to electricity. If you’re using tall equipment, be sure to look up to avoid overhead power lines. A current can even jump or arc across and make contact with your equipment, so stay at least ten feet away. And if a wire is hanging low or is on the ground, treat it as if it’s energized and avoid it. If someone comes in contact with an energized wire, make sure that you don’t touch that person until the power has turned off. They are now part of the pathway to the ground and could electrocute you.

Know your PTO. To stay safe when working with a Power Take Off, or PTO, on your farm, always disengage the PTO, turn off the engine and remove the keys before getting off the tractor. And never step across a rotating power shaft.

Stay protected from rollovers. To properly protect yourself in the event of a rollover, you’ll want to install a Retro-fit ROPS, a.k.a. a Rollover Protection Structure. Keep in mind, compared to the large field tractors, it’s the small utility tractors with the greatest number of overturns. So having proper protection in place and buckling up is your safest bet. On a similar note, to prevent a rollaway accident, always use wheel blocks when unhitching wagons or carts from a tractor.

Avoid grain entrapment. Grain handling in bins is routine during harvest, but if done in a hurry and without proper training, accidents can happen. Stay safe and avoid entrapment by following grain bin safety procedures. When entering a grain bin, always us an effective lifeline system, which includes a harness and anchored lifeline with a second person to monitor you when working in the grain bin.

Keep kids safe. The equipment and objects on your farm may look like a fun jungle gym to a child, but in reality they could cause serious injuries. Always go over the rules of the farm with a child. On top of that, make sure to follow these safety precautions:

  • Even if not in use, don’t let them climb on equipment. On that note, always turn off the farm machinery and take the keys with you.
  • Kids like to explore — lock all silos and bins.
  • Ladders are tempting for kids to climb. Make a fixed ladder inaccessible by blocking it off. If it’s a portable ladder, move it out of the child’s reach or lay it flat on the ground.
  • Fence off manure pits and areas with water. Lock the gate!
  • Cap abandoned wells and tanks.
  • Lock away all chemicals.
  • Grain bins are not play areas. Remember, they can be extremely dangerous. Make sure kids aren’t climbing in or around the bins.

Follow and keep up with the laws. Laws are put in place for a reason — to keep people safe. Make sure you’re keeping up with the changes to federal and state laws. Not only will you better protect you and the people on your farm, but you can avoid expensive fines.

Take care of yourself. One of the safest things you can do on the farm is to take care of yourself. Feeling fatigued while operating machinery can be dangerous. And if you’re not fully aware you can risk making costly mistakes. Make sure you’re taking breaks from work and getting the right amount of rest so you’re alert and on top of your game.

Maybe some of these tips were a refresher for practices you already put in place on your farm. Maybe you learned a thing or two that will help you prevent serious injuries. Either way, at American Family Insurance, we always want to make sure you’re getting the education you need to protect what matters most.

Don’t forget one of the most proactive ways to keep your farm safe from the unexpected — farm insurance. We’ll help you build a policy that’s as hardworking as you are. Connect with an agent (Opens in a new tab) to make sure you have proper coverage in place.

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    Catalog Your Farm Implements and Farm Tools First

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    • Herbicide and crop sprayers, as well as fertilizer and manure spreaders
    • Milking machines
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    • Water pumps and air compressors
    • Motorized post-hole diggers
    • Snow throwers and lawn mowers
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    Once you have the records out for the above items, dig in and locate the following:

    • Original purchase orders
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    • State and county registration records
    • Insurance documents
    • Financing documents
    • Maintenance records

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    The Financial Benefits of a Farm Equipment Checklist

    With your inventory complete, you’ll be able to rapidly gain insights into which equipment is approaching the end of its usable life, and which items are in need of replacement. With non-cash expenses like inventory depreciation tracked closely, you can make informed decisions on when to sell or purchase large implements and equipment.

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    Enhance Your Farm's Digital Presence

    As a farmer, you know the goals of your farming business better than anyone. After all, it’s what you do day in and day out. What’s equally important as a business owner is understanding the audience you’re marketing to and how to reach them. That’s why creating an online presence for your farm is so important — it’ll help you connect with your customers and build an authentic brand that people are attracted to.

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    The Importance of Understanding the Platform and Your Audience

    Before introducing your farm to the World Wide Web, you’ll want to keep these two things front of mind:

    What content are you putting on each platform?

    From your website to your e-newsletter, your customers consume and engage with every platform in different ways. So, when you start building your online presence, you’ll want to have an understanding of each platform’s purpose. That way, when your customer interacts with your business, they’re getting the information they expect.

    For instance, someone visiting your farm’s website is going to be looking for much different information than if they were on your Twitter feed. Or if a customer follows your Instagram account, they aren’t expecting the same stories as they read in your farm’s e-newsletter.

    You can build a better experience for your customers by asking yourself what mindset your reader is in when they head to each platform you create.

    Who is your audience?

    Understanding your customer is essential to the success of your digital presence. Before delivering a message effectively, you need to know who the message is going to and why. For starters, consider the kind of farm you run. Are you a commercial farm that sells your product to big businesses for distribution, or is your customer local businesses and families? The content and its tone depends on who you’re trying to reach. Who are they, what are they looking for and what’s the most authentic way you can relate to them to get them what they want? Understand their motivation by putting yourself in their shoes.

    Building a Website for Your Farm

    Now that you have a better idea of some digital basics, let’s put that knowledge into practice — starting with your website. The internet is a powerful tool to market the product(s) your farm produces, and creating a website is a key way to harness its potential. Follow these guidelines for website best practices:

    Set goals. Spontaneity has its time and place, but building a website to market your brand isn’t the situation to jump in without a plan. It’s important to set realistic, achievable goals for round one of your website. Keep in mind, your site is a work in progress and can be improved upon in many iterations. Consider what you want your website to achieve. Are you selling products? Do you offer a CSA? Do you want to educate people on agriculture? Maybe you’ll create a gallery to show images of the fun you have on your farm. Take the time to sit down and list out a few goals for round one. With your plan in place, it’ll make the next steps that much easier.

    Creating the website. You’ll need to decide if you want to hire someone to create your website or if you plan on crafting one yourself. Many sites exist that make it super easy to create and maintain your own website — and most of them are even free to use! If you choose to have someone develop a website for you, make sure it implements a content management system so you can update the site yourself. This way, you can easily keep things relevant without always having to go back to the designer (and pay them) to make changes.

    Provide a clear description of who you are. If someone stumbled upon your website, would they be able to identify who you are and the purpose of your farming business within a matter of seconds? That’s your goal — create a homepage that’ll attract and retain your customer’s attention so they’ll stay on your page. Make sure the name of your business stands out and a summary of your products and services is included.

    Clear navigation. In order to guide your customers to discover all the great things about your business, you’ll want a navigation menu with clear links that lead to your pages. A dropdown menu offers an easy way for your visitor to see all that you have to offer, no matter which page they’re on. You’ll ultimately decide which pages you want on your page, but home, about us, newsletter, calendar, contact us, links to your social media pages and other important services you offer are common pages to include on your website. Remember, your pages will align with the goals you set at the beginning.

    How to Create a Farm E-Newsletter

    No matter what type of farming you do, an e-newsletter is a simple and effective way to promote your farm. An e-newsletter is a periodic “report” with information and news about your farm and, in this case, is distributed to your subscribers via email. This form of marketing can be very effective because it’s targeted to people who have already taken interest in what you’re doing.

    So what should you know about creating an e-newsletter? Start with these three tips:

    Newsletter content. A good rule of thumb to follow is to include content that’s 90% educational and 10% promotional. Chances are the person who subscribed to your e-newsletter wants to get to know your business better and continue to stay informed — not be pushed to buy something. Providing educational, relevant information builds trust between your reader and your business. Here are some ideas for content you might include:

    • Whether you sell meat or vegetables, recipes are a fun way to mix your product with something useful to the consumer. It may even encourage a customer to buy your product.
    • Life on the farm isn’t something everyone gets to experience. Include a fun story about how your farm runs or an anecdote about your animals. This way your reader can vicariously experience farm life.
    • Is your farm open to the public? Include visiting hours, what they can expect to experience and any upcoming special events.
    • If you offer volunteer opportunities, include how to volunteer and/or a testimony from a previous volunteer.
    • Will you be at a farmer’s market or farming expo? Be sure to list anywhere you plan on appearing as vendors.
    • Reward your subscribers with a discount or coupon every now and then to show you appreciate their business.
    • Is there something unique about your farm? Let it be known!

    There’s no end to the content you can include in your newsletter, but most importantly, make sure it’s relevant and have an understanding what your reader is looking for.

    Newsletter design. A newsletter can be sent by mail, email or included on your website. Our suggestion is to send your subscribers an email as well as include a web page for your newsletters on your website. That way non-subscribers can view the newsletter and hopefully become subscribers! Here are a few things to keep in mind for the layout of your newsletter:

    • Create a header at the top of the page that includes the title of your newsletter, your company name and logo.
    • Use subheadings to organize and break up the pieces of content. A subhead should be smaller than your main heading and bigger than the text you use for your content blocks.
    • Choose a color scheme. If you have a brand logo, defer to those colors.
    • The legibility of your newsletter is very important, so stick to one or two fonts, since too many fonts can give a disorganized look.
    • Have a balance of images and text. An image grabs a reader’s attention and offers a visually appealing element to your newsletter. It can be used to break up the page so as to not overwhelm the reader with too much content.
    • Don’t create a five-page newsletter. Keep it to a page or two. The newsletter is designed to provide quick, digestible information that grabs your reader’s attention.

    Newsletter frequency. How often should you send your newsletter? Most people choose to send a weekly, monthly or quarterly newsletter. It all comes down to your own personal goals and what your business offers. If you have a lot of events happening on your farm or are very customer-focused, sending a weekly newsletter is a good idea. If you don’t think you’ll have much time to put into a weekly newsletter, go for the quarterly and make sure to spend time filling it with all the great things that have gone over the last three months. A monthly newsletter is a good, doable balance for busy farmers who need to keep their customers updated but don’t have a lot of time.

    Just remember — your newsletter is meant to attract your target audience and give them a reason to stick with you. Do what’s realistic for your business and have fun with it!

    Social Media and Your Farm

    Facebook, Twitter, YouTube — just a few social media platforms you can use to easily promote your farm. And they are pretty simple to set up and maintain! Our advice is to focus on building out your presence on one platform and slowly work your way into creating more accounts once you get the hang of marketing through social media. Here’s a closer look at some great ways you can use social media on your farm

    A thought-out, well-run digital presence can benefit your farm in many ways. With the right goals and strategy in place, you can give your farm a digital edge. Your next steps? Go dig around the Internet and do some research. What kinds of farming websites exist? What kind of information do other farms include in their e-newsletters? Start following some successful farm’s on social media. Take a look at what already exists on the web to gain ideas on what might work or not work for your own strategy.

    Remember — it’s all about knowing your audience and what they’re looking for. At the end of the day, it’s about making your customer happy.