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Danger lurks around the corner
Fairly often a farm is not only the place where a family works, but it is also the place where a family lives.
This means that every member of the family is continuously exposed to the dangers of an environment where machines, chemicals, livestock and animal faeces are constantly present.
Two categories are at particular risk: children and elderly people.
Children often help out with the chores and, furthermore, they find the farm a wonderful playground. They are thus exposed to many dangers.
Elderly farmers, as can been seen in the Osservatorio, remain active up to a very ripe age. Often they are not aware that their strength and reaction times are not as they used to be in the past, and they tend to run unnecessary risks.
Moreover, there are other aspects to consider: multifunctional agriculture allows guests to engage in several activities around the farm. Therefore open farms become social and educational centres providing services such as animal assisted therapy, social rehabilitation and gradual (re)introduction into the job market.
These new activities require different, and sometimes extra, safety measures that allow guests to move freely, but safely, around the farm.
Same problems in different places
Despite the diversity in terms of environments and cultivations, agricultural safety problems tend to be very similar in different countries. As borne out by the statistics, agriculture is near the top of the list of industries having the highest fatal accident rates.
Many projects are run to improve awareness of the potential dangers that exist on the farm. These are often sponsored by government or research institutions, although they can also be promoted by farmers that have suffered great emotional losses.
Three associations to improve safety
One example is the American organization Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, whose mission is to promote a safe farm environment to prevent health hazards, injuries, and fatalities to children and youth through public education, awareness campaigns, and developing teaching materials.
Farm Safety 4 Just Kids
Farm Safety 4 Just Kids came into being after Marilyn Adams lost her 11 year-old son, Keith, who suffocated while unloading grain. After this dramatic event, Marilyn decided to start a child safety campaign, addressing kids directly.
Her mission is to raise children’s awareness about potential dangers and to offer training and education to families that want to make their farm a safer place to live and work on.
The organization stages demonstrations, performances and games for kids, and publishes statistics, reports and useful materials for parents.
Another organization that campaigns for children’s safety, among other things, is the UK’s governmental institution HSE, the Health and Safety Executive.
The institution’s aim is to develop the awareness of the public, farmworkers and children about the potential dangers the little ones can be exposed to.
In addition to ads campaigns, HSE makes available to parents and children booklets on farm safety that can be downloaded for free from the website.
Another positive project has been launched by New Zealanders farmers through FarmSafe, an organization that offers training on the risks and dangers of working in agriculture.
Besides offering safety tips on the web, FarmSafe organizes three different workshops (FarmSafe Awareness, FarmSafe Plans, FarmSafe Skills) and issues certificates for some of them.
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The workshops are designed to heighten awareness of injury prevention, draw up an effective health and safety plan for farmhouses and raise the practical skills of those who work on the land (riding vehicles, using chainsaws, handling chemical substances, driving tractors, handling animals, etc.).
Dr. Peter Lundqvist was a guest at one of the FarmSafe workshops. He praised FarmSafe’s educational and awareness-raising approach and underlined the similarities between safety problems in Nordic countries and those in New Zealand.
And because of the similarities between countries, it would be wise to adopt Marilyn Adams’ advice and join in with efforts to create a safer environment:
it takes each and everyone of us working together to keep more kids safe and happy.
Flavia – I just reviewed your posting about farm safety activities focusing on children. Great start on an extremely important topic. I was a professor at the University of Iowa, Dept. of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health. I also was the center director for International Rural and Environmental Health, based in Bratislava, Slovakia. This center continues today, and remains very active in rural safety and health issues…including children’s farm safety. Perhaps you would want to report of some of their activities. You can contact Ivan Ciznar at ciznar@upkm.sk about this organization.
I am currently Chair of the Farm Safety 4 Just Kids Board of Directors. We appreciate your coverage of our organization on your website. We do not have a sufficient budget to become involved in any significant manner in the international scene at this time, but we periodically have contacts with our counterparts in Europe and the Nordic Countries (world leaders in agricultural safety/health).
Again, thanks for your coverage of our organization.
Regards, Burt Kross