By Juile Tomascik
Editor

National Farm Safety and Health Week kicks off with a reminder for farmers, ranchers and agricultural professionals: “Don’t Learn Safety By Accident.”

This theme reiterates the importance of being proactive about safety on farms and ranches, where the risks of accidents and injuries are ever-present.

In fact, agriculture is one of the most dangerous jobs in America, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Fall harvest time can be one of the busiest and most dangerous seasons of the year for the agriculture industry. For this reason, the third week of September has been recognized as National Farm Safety and Health Week,” said the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety, which leads the farm safety effort.

Free webinars will be hosted each weekday and will focus on accident prevention, mental and physical health and safety best practices. They include:

Monday, Sept. 16 – Equipment and Rural Roadway Safety

  • 11 a.m. CDT – Skid Loader Safety
  • 1 p.m. CDT – Sharing the Road: Agricultural Equipment and the Driving Public

Tuesday, Sept. 17 – Health and Wellness

  • 11 a.m. CDT – Noise: Bad for My Ears and Heart, too?
  • 1 p.m. CDT – Conversations on Access to Lethal Means

Wednesday, Sept. 18 – Generations of Farming

  • 11 a.m. CDT – Three Step Process to Farm Succession Planning
  • 1 p.m. CDT – Training Future Generations of Farmers through Registered Apprenticeship
  • 3 p.m. CDT – Train the Trainer – No Safe Way to Vape

Thursday, Sept. 19 – Confined Space

  • 11 a.m. CDT – Causes of Oxygen Deficiency, Confined Space, and Toxic Fumes
  • 1 p.m. CDT – Grain Related Entrapment: Are We Focusing on the Right Problem?

Friday, Sept. 20 – Reporting Ag Injuries

  • 11 a.m. CDT – It Pays to Talk Safety in Ag
  • 1 p.m. CDT – Using a Novel App Prototype to Assess Heat Stress Risk Among Outdoor Workers

Each webinar is available at agrisafe.org/nfshw.

Click here for more information and resources related to National Farm Safety and Health Week.

AgriSafe also offers training and rescue programs throughout the year on a variety of topics and provides additional webinars to increase awareness for agricultural safety.