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 Reporting (CAIR) data highlights some concerning statistics about child and youth deaths related to agriculture. CAIR is the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association’s national surveillance program, coordinated by the Injury Prevention Centre at the University of Alberta.

According to CAIR data, from 1990 to 2020, a staggering 435 children and youth lost their lives due to agriculture-related incidents, with children ages one to four having the highest number of deaths of those under age 19.

Farms and ranches are not just workplaces, but also areas where people live and play. As a result, while other industries see occupational injury victims almost exclusively in the 18- to 65-year-old range, children sadly account for a significant number of fatalities in agriculture.

What’s contributing to so many agriculture-related fatalities among children and youth? According to the CAIR data, the majority (65 per cent) of children and youth deaths were caused by machinery, and most of those incidents involved a tractor. Runovers accounted for 32 per cent of child and youth deaths, followed by rollovers (15 per cent) and drownings (11 per cent). However, the second-largest category for mechanisms of injury — “other” — underscores the various hazards on the farm that can cause injury.

Unsurprisingly, the leading cause of death differs when looking at the unique age groups. The CAIR report indicates runovers are the leading cause of fatal injury for children under the age of nine, followed by drownings. In contrast, rollovers are the leading cause of death for youths aged 10 to 19.

Most of these victims (67 per cent) were not working at the time of the tragic incident but were in the area of farm work. One in three (65 per cent) of victims was the child of the owner/operator of the farm, with visiting children/youths representing 10 per cent of victims, followed by hired workers at nine per cent.

It’s important to keep in mind that these statistics are more than just numbers. They’re a sobering reminder of the need to protect the well-being of kids on the farm.

What can you do to keep kids safe on the farm? While farm kids are known for growing up quickly, because of the environment they are brought up in, remember that they’re still kids. So, ensure any tasks you give kids on the farm are age-appropriate. While kids might be living and playing on the farm, it’s also a workplace with plenty of hazards. Take time to create a designated play area, put barriers where possible around areas kids shouldn’t access (such as bodies of water or heights), and always provide adequate supervision.

Remember to discuss safety regularly with your kids, making it a routine part of conversations, and lead by example by demonstrating safe practices in your own actions.

Together, we can create a safer, more sustainable, and vibrant future for agriculture, and make these troubling statistics a thing of the past.

A new campaign

Kids FarmSafe Week is a new public awareness campaign hosted by the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association with the aim of promoting the safety and wellness of children and youth on Canadian farms.

For its inaugural year, the campaign takes place May 13-19, 2024 and is presented by BASF Canada Agricultural Solutions. More information can be found online.

— Article courtesy of the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, a national, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and safety of farmers, their families and agricultural workers. CASA is funded in part by the Government of Canada under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal, provincial and territorial initiative. For more information, visit the CASA web site, find us on Facebook or LinkedIn, or follow us on X @planfarmsafety.

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And there are so many benefits to raising children on a farm — a life of working and being outdoors, a connection to the land, nature and animals, the culture and values of a farm life, close-knit families and a strong sense of community, the development of a good work ethic and the self-esteem and pride that goes along with accomplishing farm tasks, and a shared family passion and working toward a common goal.

While there are many advantages to growing up on a farm, there is also the risk of accidental injuries or death. No one ever wants this to happen, least of all a parent. And a child fatality on a farm is unthinkable. Last year, a study came across my desk on this topic where the findings were so disturbing to me, I had to put it on my editorial topics list for this year’s Ag Safety Week starting March 14.

The study, “Fatal Farm Injuries to Canadian Children,” which appeared in the journal Preventive Medicine in August last year, examined 23 years of national Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting fatality data to determine if farms have become safer for children who lived and worked on them over a long period. The study examined data from 1990-2012, breaking those years into two study periods of 1990-2001 for Period 1 and 2002-2012 for Period 2, which were then compared.

One of the findings of the report is particularly alarming — the mean annual rates of fatal injury per 100,000 children were similar between the two study periods. The fatality rate remained stable from 1990-2012 at about four per 100,000 farm children per year.

In 2015, the national reported rates of unintentional injury death in the general population of children in Canada range from three per 100,000 children ages one to nine years, 2.8 for ages 10 to 14 years and 11.4 for ages 15 to 19 years. These rates are about 60 to 80 per cent lower than those reported in 1990. “Farm children have not experienced the same reduction in injury mortality as other Canadian children have over the last decades,” stated the report.

In total, 374 fatal farm injuries to children aged zero to 19 years occurred between 1990 and 2012. During Period 1 of the study, there were 253 fatal farm injuries to children, while Period 2 of the study reported 121. Although the total number of deaths dropped over time, “this can be attributed to declining family farm population in Canada,” stated the report.

Still, a child fatality on a farm is an uncommon occurrence; however, even one death per year is too many.

It will be no surprise to you that tractor injuries — mainly runovers of passengers, rollovers and runovers of bystanders — were the leading causes of death involving machinery in both time periods among working and non-working children. In Period 2 (2002-12), there was an increase in the proportion of deaths attributable to all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and skid steer loaders and decreases in the deaths caused by motor vehicles.

With respect to non-machinery causes of death among children, drownings of non-working children were the most prevalent. Those water hazards included dugouts, sewage and manure pits, and ponds, lakes, swamps and sloughs. Specific to preschool-aged children, tractor injuries and drownings were the leading causes of death during both time periods with slight increases in the proportion of deaths caused by skid steer loaders and ATVs in Period 2.

The report concludes over the study period of 1990-2012, prevention efforts and initiatives aimed at child safety on the farm “appear to have ultimately been ineffective at achieving their end goal of reducing fatalities to farm children.”

However, almost 10 years have passed since 2012, which is the most recent data included in the study. I’d be interested to see a follow-up study for the years 2013-20. During this time, there has been a noticeable effort, especially in the last five years, to put farm safety front and centre. Also, many changes can occur on a farm over a decade, including improvements to safety practices and equipment and to machinery to increase safety.

I am drawing your attention to this report from sciencedirect.com as a reminder that improvements to child safety on the family farm must remain top of mind as we head into another growing season.

To decrease child safety risks on the farm, there are provincial health and farm safety guides online and the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association has numerous resources to help you make all aspects of farm life safer for children.

Have a happy, healthy and safe spring,
Kari

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Safety is important all year, but it comes to mind even more during harvest when more machines are in motion and more people are out working. On our farm, we’ve made sure our 10-year old can easily call 911 for help in an emergency. We keep our land location on a bulletin board in a convenient place so he or any guests can tell an operator where we are. But, of course, I worry that maybe that won’t be enough.

Now that our emergency services are co-ordinated by central dispatchers, you can’t phone in and say, “the fire is in the yard south of Glen Richards’ barn.” A 911 operator in Prince Albert probably doesn’t know the back roads near Swift Current well enough to understand if you tell her to get the ambulance driver to turn left where the Peterson’s house used to be.

Theoretically, this isn’t a problem. I’ve talked to spokespersons from the B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan 911 agencies. Representatives from all three organizations told me that, if you don’t have a typical street address, all you need is your land location and the dispatcher will get help to you. If you’re still using a landline, location information is usually automatically sent to the 911 operator. Andrew Renfree, 911 program manager for the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, emailed to tell me that, in the future, they’ll even be able to get that location information from your cell phone.

This is all great. Except, occasionally, when it isn’t.

Anecdotally, I’ve heard a few stories from various places about problems getting emergency services to the right remote rural location. Typically, the people telling the stories seem to believe the problem is a miscommunication between the centralized 911 operator and the local volunteer who answers the phone for the volunteer fire department. I can’t be the only one hearing these stories.

The solutions is in the STARS

STARS, the non-profit helicopter air ambulance organization is coming to our rescue with a new app that just might solve these problems.

SOLUS, the new STARS smartphone app, uses your smartphone’s GPS system to track your location (iPhone or Android). If you have a wreck, the app puts you in touch with a live person in the STARS Emergency Link Centre. (They won’t necessarily send a STARS helicopter, unless that’s what you need.)

They already know exactly where you are.

And there’s more. While you’re telling them what happened, the SOLUS app is already alerting the emergency contacts you’ve pre-loaded into the app. Your wife and your son can be on their way to the field while you’re still explaining why you need an ambulance.

To make it even better, SOLUS also includes a “Neighbour Helping Neighbour” safety network. People living near you who have volunteered to be part of this network will also get the alert, so they can show up to lend a hand while you wait for professional help. (Of course, like any network, it’s only as good as the number of people in it. If more people use the SOLUS app, more of your neighbours will be part of your local network.)

The only catch: it’s not free. SOLUS costs $9.99 per month, per phone. On a family farm with a working husband, wife, child and farm employee, this would run $480 year. Compared to the average annual combine payment, this is a pretty minor fee. And, revenues go to STARS — many of us are already making regular donations to this cause.

Want to try before you buy? Dow AgroSciences has you covered. They’ll pay for your subscription for the first three months. Text “SOLUS” to 1-204-817-1984. Dow AgriSciences’ automated service will get back to you right away with a promo code and more information about how to use it.

I texted the number. It works just fine. This is not a scam.

Read more about the service at www.solus.ca.

Have a safe harvest, Leeann.

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Lights

A farm manager I know who takes care of a large grain farm with around a dozen employees in season is always assessing to see where improvements can be made. He has found the biggest improvements have come with better lighting.

Better lighting makes working in dark and poorly light areas easier and safer. Choosing the right lights can be intimidating — there are so many choices are available. Making a site map can help determine the strength and type of lighting you need and where to put it.

Before you run down and buy a bunch of lights on sale consider your lighting plan. And also consider how you can incorporate other safety measures such as cameras and reflectors in your overall plan.

• Read more: Avoiding grain fires on farms
• Read more: Farm equipment first aid kits

Three main areas of lighting are important to map out. Stationary sites: grain bins, loading areas, service and parking areas. Movable equipment: augers, sweeps, baggers and extractors, seeders and tanks. Operator-driven equipment: tractors, trucks, combines, sprayers, etc.

Stationary sites pose placement challenges. Not every yard has poles or high enough points for overhead lighting and it truly can be a challenge to reach the tops of many high bins with any type of light not attached to them. The areas of safety concern for stationary sites are travel areas, moving equipment (belts, augers, motors) and areas where workers will be climbing or walking.

Travel areas should have clear sight lines for travel paths making it easy for equipment and trucks to move to the different areas. These lights should not be such that they blind the operator but illuminate the area in which they will be working. Reducing glare and shadows ensures people and equipment are as visible as possible for safety.

Movable equipment is often used in travel areas but not always. The lighting required for them should be specific to the task at hand. Directional lighting for augers as well as general lighting for safe operations. Some lights mount on the auger to illuminate and others are directional and can be mounted on the roof of a truck or tractor. These are especially handy when they come with a remote control for changing direction and angle. Service trucks, extractors and baggers have similar lighting needs. General lighting for operators, and specific target lighting for alignment.

Operator-driven equipment should have the right amount of lights for the job. Being visible and illuminating blind spots when an operator is outside of their cab is especially important for safety in low light and night operations. Lighting should be adjustable and enough lights used to provide clear safe access to equipment.

Un-mounted lights such as magnetic flashlights and cap-mounted lights increase the operator’s view and visibility. Many jackets and hats come with reflective stripes already in the fabric wearing these adds to a worker’s visibility.

Camera

Generally cameras are used to check on equipment, guide equipment or monitor. They also can be excellent tools for safety. Being able to see behind or beside gives operators an extra opportunity to check for ground workers and safety hazards. Cameras for equipment have day and night capabilities, which allow for greater vision. By learning to look at what the monitors show in a critical way, operators can learn to identify hazards.

However there is a challenge to using cameras and lights when working — they are only tools towards working safely. There will still be blind spots and shadows, equipment operators and ground workers should be aware of blind spots and stay away from them.

Action

Before anything is engaged, moved or turned on all personnel should be visually accounted for. Letting everyone on the crew know the expectation of being accounted for shows your investment in their safety. Let your operators know where the ground crew will gather, set an all clear signal and get back to work.

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Oloske’s rule of thumb is to have a kit in every piece of equipment that you get into and to ensure you have enough supplies in each kit to treat your crew. He strives to have a nine to 10 person kit in each piece of equipment. He’s also taken time to print up stickers that show the equipment has a first aid kit inside.

“If you hurt something, like cutting your finger, and there isn’t anything clean in the cab for a bandage, just oily or dirty rags, you leave yourself open for an infection.” Oloske says.

With the amount of chemicals, lubricants, dirt and debris you find working on a farm of any type, proper treatment of a wound right after the injury happens is very important. A proper and accessible first aid kit is the best thing to have.

Oloske usually uses pre-made first aid kits from industrial safety companies and then adds his own farm specific touches. Things like an eyewash bottle for the sprayer; welding gloves for combines. Each kit should also have a first aid tip card.

Many field operations are done alone, so having a contact card in the kits is important. Oloske keeps more than the number for 911 on the contact cards in his kits — he includes the local dealership main and after hours numbers, any neighbours who could come and help, the local fire/ambulance hall number and family member numbers.

It is very important to know what items are in your first aid kit and how to use them. Restocking and assessing your kits on a regular basis ensures they have what you might need for the jobs you’re doing. Keep an inventory card in your kit, and put your kits inside a large zipper bag to keep them clean.

By putting the stickers on the windows you let everyone know there is a kit inside the cab if one is needed.

First aid training has become more accessible. At least one person on a crew should have first aid and CPR training.

Producers can, of course, build their own kits. Keep in mind that although a first aid kit may seem expensive, if you have to put it together piece by piece you may not see a big cost savings.

The importance of having kits in all your equipment is huge. It means you or your workers will have access to items that can help them if they are injured.

If you would like information on Oloske’s kids, call Gerald at 780-920-4868.

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“When I was a kid, we weren’t afraid to take a hammer and nails, and just put them into a piece of wood,” Monique recalls. “I remember taking a drill and drilling holes in aluminum bowls!”

During the harvest season of 1986, everything changed. Monique and her younger brother, Patrick, took lunch to her father and older brother in the field. As they had done before, she and Patrick were playing in the truck box where the wheat was being unloaded. Patrick remembers waving hello to his brother in the combine as it unloaded into the truck box around him. He hadn’t yet realized his body was already stuck in the grain. He vividly recalls suddenly struggling to pull his arms out of chest-high wheat and looking over to see Monique was worse off.

“The wheat was above Monique’s nose and eyes already, so I got my left arm out to scoop enough wheat away from her mouth and nose constantly,” he says. “The pressure of the wheat on my chest was so heavy, I was trying to breathe so hard but I couldn’t, so I panicked… it was a nightmare.”

Outside of the grain box, his father, Emile, had returned in another truck to take the next load of wheat from the field and had expected to see the two younger kids around. Emile is not sure what it was that made him think they might be in the back of the truck.

“I came to the field to see no kids in the truck, and I just panicked,” he explains. “I automatically went to the back of the truck, opened the gate, and they both came out.”

Patrick says he can clearly remember Emile was “as pale as a white wall” as he knelt down to check them both over. “They were both OK but that was a very close call,” Emile says. “After that, I told them that they had to stay home.”

No one was allowed to play on equipment anymore and Monique says none of the kids could see the fun in it after that anyway. The new farm policy became “if you can’t count five heads in the yard, you can’t start up or move equipment.” Emile bought two-way radios shortly after that so there could be more communication about where the kids were supposed to be and fortunately, they never had another close call after that. Now that the kids are grown and bring the grandchildren to the farm, those safety policies are as important as ever.

Patrick says maintaining eye contact is a good policy but he’s learned the value of conducting walk arounds too. He’s moved away from the farm and says it’s a mandatory practice on his construction worksite. Fatal accidents in the past have proven the equipment is simply too big to see everyone from the cab. In his opinion, walk arounds ensure you really know your surroundings as an operator.

“Where I work, you walk around, make sure there’s no one behind you, and no one near the equipment,” he says, “no matter what.”

Monique says their family had to learn their commitment to safety the hard way and she’s determined to teach her four-year-old daughter without another close call. If constant supervision isn’t a guarantee, Monique says she won’t let her daughter be in a position where there’s a potential safety risk. “If she’s going to go in the shop where there are chemicals, I know her, and curiosity’s gonna take over.” That’s why Monique strongly believes it’s ultimately up to parents to ensure the safety of their children. If that means insisting on hazards being put under lock and key, dedicating a babysitter to constant supervision, or simply declaring ‘no-go’ zones, than that’s what she believes parents should do.

Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, casa-acsa.ca

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On April 20, 1994, she and her brother were playing on a tractor-driven rotary tiller that was parked, but running, not far from where her parents were standing in the yard. “The rototiller shook itself into gear, my brother fell forward, and I fell back.” Bailey says that as dangerous as high-speed power takeoffs are, it was the rotors on the tiller that did the most permanent damage. It only took a split second for Bailey to suffer serious injuries. “The rotor blade stripped the muscle on my left leg from the calf down. A blade went into my stomach and cut some of my intestines, then went all the way up into my liver. And I have a scar where it tore my face right down my laugh line.”

Twenty years later, she still remembers having trouble breathing, but remaining calm as her mother scooped her up. Bailey’s mother had taken a first aid course not even three weeks before and never panicked. She took charge of the scene immediately and worked to stop Bailey’s bleeding with sanitary napkins she had on hand. “Driving to the nearest hospital, about 30 kilometres away in Kerrobert, I remember looking for birds. That was a game we would play when we were driving. My Mom told me that was because she wanted to keep me awake.”

Although Bailey’s mother was confident in her actions, local doctors and nurses were unsure how to treat Bailey’s injuries. Bailey went into shock before the decision was made to transfer her by ambulance to Royal University Hospital — two hours away in Saskatoon. Her mother followed the ambulance the entire way. “Mom remembers stopping twice on the highway ((behind the ambulance), and she knew something was wrong,” Bailey says. “My heart stopped, twice, and it can’t fibrillate in a moving ambulance.”

Seven surgeons met the ambulance upon its arrival in Saskatoon. All of Bailey’s veins had collapsed, and doctors couldn’t get an IV started which delayed surgery. The situation was bad; five surgeons quit during surgery thinking Bailey was a lost cause Miraculously, she survived and after a couple of weeks in the intensive care unit, followed by another three or four months of rehabilitation, she was finally discharged.

Bailey traveled to rehab for nearly 10 years after that. Even with intensive rehab, Bailey’s Achilles’ tendon shrunk to the point that she always walked on tiptoe. After years of limping her spine was thrown out of alignment. Bailey opted for a second major surgery in November 2005, which doctors explained could result in an amputated leg. She says that was a hard decision to make as a body- conscious 15-year-old, but fortunately, the surgery was a success.

“As a child growing up, it was tough having the massive amount of scars that I do and an obvious limp. Legally, I was disabled. Life was extremely hard, but I just made a choice at a young age, that I was only as disabled as I wanted to be.”

Bailey played almost every sport she could in school, struggling with only skating and snowboarding. She also traveled around on a school speaking circuit, talking to nearly 1000 kids about the importance of farm safety. After graduating from high school, she moved to Calgary to become a primary care paramedic. Just last fall, she transferred to Kerrobert so she and her husband could move three miles away from the family farm.

“It happened so fast, and it changed my life,” she says. “I’m so much more than the scars on my body, and I’m so much more than ‘that girl who was run over by a rototiller’… but, what parents and kids don’t realize is, it’s not just a farm accident, it’s a life sentence.”

Bailey believes life has only given her what she can handle but, at the same time, she sincerely hopes sharing her story saves another child from suffering an equally difficult experience.

By Amy Petherick, freelancer for Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, casa-acsa.ca.

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Play teaches children co-operation. Play helps children improve their balance and co-ordination, to strengthen their muscles. Play also challenges kids’ imaginations, and teaches children how to problem-solve and how to be part of a team. And play lets kids be kids. With a safe play area, children can experience the joys of play and reduce the risk of injury on the farm.

Location matters. A safe play area should be designated by boundaries or physical barriers such as fences, gates or shrubs. It’s important that the play area is away from the majority of farm activity. Keep in mind traffic, livestock, farm machinery, open water and noise when deciding where the play area should be located. Make sure the location is free of hazardous plants like poison ivy and pests like wasps. Ensure that there is sufficient shade and is free of obstacles like power lines or unstable structures. Also, make sure the location of the play area is within sight and hearing distance of a responsible adult.

When selecting a location for the safe play area make sure to keep in mind how much space the children using it will need. A small area appropriate for a three-year-old, won’t be as useful for a faster, bigger 10-year-old.

Equipment matters too. A big factor in creating a safe play area is having equipment that kids want to use. Playground equipment, a club house, balls, balance beams, and swings are all great ideas to include in your safe play area. Make sure that they are hazard-free and secure. Protrusions like bolts can be hazardous while playing.

Maintaining and improving the play area is an on-going task. Develop a routine inspection and maintenance plan that includes keeping grass mowed, checking equipment for loose or broken parts, adding protective ground surfacing and reviewing safety rules. Make improvements as needed and modifications as children outgrow the existing play equipment.

There are no guarantees that any play area is truly safe. Children can be unpredictable and they don’t always make the safest choices. What we can do is to create, use and maintain a safe play area combined with careful, competent supervision can help greatly reduce the risk to children on the farm.

According to the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, there are six steps in developing a safe play area. Here they are for quick reference:

1. Locate a site to be developed into a safe play area. The location should provide maximum play options with minimum exposure to agricultural hazards.
2. Sketch out the ideal play area for that site, considering ways to promote fantasy, manipulative, swinging, climbing and riding activities. Plan for modifications in play activities as children grow.
3. Determine materials needed. Make, buy or adapt for different play activities. Refer to playground equipment Web sites or other resources for specific guidance related to residential play areas.
4. Build the play area including appropriate ground surfacing, borders, fences and gates. Older children can assist with this process if they are supervised.
5. Use the play area. Explain safety rules and post signs if needed. Observe young children, older siblings and adult supervisors as they enjoy the area. Think about immediate modifications and future changes based on how the area gets used.
6. Maintain and improve the safe play area. Develop a routine maintenance plan that includes keeping grass mowed, checking equipment for loose or broken parts, and reviewing safety rules for visitors. Let older children help with inspection and maintenance because this enhances their ownership and reinforces the importance of telling adults about possible hazards. Make improvements as needed and modifications as children outgrow play

For more information about safe play areas and keeping kids safe, visit agsafetyweek.ca.

Canadian Agricultural Safety Week (CASW) is a public education campaign focusing on the importance of farm safety. CASW takes place every year during the third week of March. In 2016, CASW takes place March 13 to 19. CASW 2016 is presented by Farm Credit Canada. For more information visit agsafetyweek.ca.

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