Efforts to rebuild and repair farms tend to take centre stage following a crisis, but the mental health aspects of such events often inadvertently wind up on the back burner, hence a new resource kit for farmer use.
Toolkits help bridge gap in farmer mental health
Ag Safety: In ag emergency preparedness, mental health outcomes often are overlooked
Poor-fitting PPE adds more farm safety hazards for women
Surveys show the available gear significantly hampers women at their work
Despite decades of calls for change, women on farms and in other workplaces are still made to struggle with ill-fitting and uncomfortable personal protective equipment (PPE).
Being proactive in storage, handling key to grain safety
Farm Safety: Canola is particularly susceptible to spoilage in storage
A key reason people become trapped in grain is because the stored product has gone out-of-condition. Put the other way, if the grain is in good condition, the less likely you are to have to enter the bin in the first place.
Road safety a shared responsibility
Tips to help ensure everyone’s safety while on the road
Tractors and other farm equipment travel significantly slower than typical traffic, meaning a motor vehicle driving at the speed limit can close the distance on farm machinery much faster than anticipated.
Repairing farm equipment safely
Ag Safety: Maintenance and repair requirements are laid out with the machine operator's safety in mind
Maintenance and repairs are routine tasks on farms. Equipment breaks down, and machinery requires regular upkeep; it’s just a regular part of farming. Proper knowledge, information and tools are crucial for carrying out maintenance and repairs effectively and safely. Bill C-244, an amendment to the federal Copyright Act, allows Canadians access to vehicle, machinery and […] Read more
Successful grain rescue shows value of training, awareness
Program demonstrates ‘reality and severity’ of grain entrapment
Grain entrapments don’t often have happy endings. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case for a grain entrapment on Feb. 9 in east-central Alberta. Chris Krushel, fire chief for the Edgerton Emergency Services Department, says a man had entered a grain bin to clean it when he became caught in the grain. Thankfully, another person was present […] Read more
Farm kids not immune to farm stressors
CASA on Farm Safety: New study shows risks for youths on the farm go beyond just physical well-being
They say it takes a village to raise a child. And a new study is highlighting that notion when it comes to mental in farm youth, revealing that children aren’t immune to stressors on the family farm The study, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, explores how economic stressors affect the mental health of farmers […] Read more
“One decision changed my life”
A farm accident survivor on the need to keep farm kids safe
Bailey Kemery knows how quickly a farm accident can happen and change a life forever. It was April 1994, and Kemery, who was four years old, was playing on a parked tractor-driven rototiller that was still running on her family’s grain farm near Major, Sask. Her parents were standing not too far away. When the […] Read more
Data shows more needs to be done to keep kids safe on the farm
Kids FarmSafe Week, a new public awareness campaign, runs May 13-19
We can all agree that farm safety is more prominent now than a few decades ago. But while Canadian farms are becoming safer, hazards still exist, and it’s clear that there is still a long way to go with farm safety — particularly when it comes to children and youth. The latest Canadian Agricultural Injury […] Read more
Normalizing farm safety from an early age
Katie Keddy’s approach to teaching her two sons about safety on the farm is simple: normalize it. “We believe in teaching them lessons so that they grow up with safety as a culture on the farm instead of learning it as adults,” Keddy explains. Keddy and her husband, Philip, are second-generation farmers growing sweet potatoes […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
