Canadian Agricultural Safety Week Recognized

Nova Scotia farmers are encouraged to pay extra attention to work-related details that can help reduce the risk of injury or death on the job.

Protect your moving parts is the theme of Canadian Agricultural Safety Week, which runs from March 14 to 20. The week launches a year-long campaign focused on safety hazards such as pinch points and crush and entanglement injuries and the importance of guards to prevent such injuries.

"The average farm is full of machinery and devices that can grab, cut, smash, and entangle farm operators," said Ron Chisholm, Acting Minister of Agriculture. "Since many of these types of injuries are preventable, I urge farmers to regularly check and repair guards and shields on their machinery to help reduce the risk of injuries on their farms."

Frazer Hunter, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, said he has become more aware of farmers being involved in accidents with moving parts of machinery since representing the federation at meetings.

"You know that you are at a meeting with farmers when most of those attending have a finger missing, or have another noticeable part of their physique not quite like it should be," he said.

In Canada, entanglements in equipment are a leading cause of serious injury on many farms. These accidents account for 28 per cent of hospitalized, machinery-related injuries and 10 per cent of all work-related farm fatalities. While the presence of appropriate guards does not remove all hazards, it does help minimize risk.

Minister of Environment and Labour Mark Parent encourages agricultural producers to minimize risks on farms by making safety a priority.

"Keeping machinery in good repair, ensuring guards and shields are in place and training workers in safe practices are all excellent ways to reduce the chances of a farm accident," Mr. Parent said.

Canadian Agricultural Safety Week program is a project of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association in partnership with Farm Credit Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Canadian Agricultural Safety Week is supported by the Nova Scotia Farm Health and Safety Committee.