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The Rural Voice, 2000-03, Page 21farmer is put out of commission for a short or a long time, but there are Tess visible•effects — distress, guilt, even family breakdowns. The exercise of completing the audit identifies those things you've been doing well and brings to the forefront the areas you need to improve, says Jim. "Like the Environmental Farm Plan it's a kind of thought process. You're not looking at yourself as a failure. Most people are doing a lot of good things." Among the good things the Gowlands have been doing that were brought to the forefront by the checklist was the family's policy of never having two people on a tractor unless it was for training purposes and then only in a tractor with a cab. Having also had young children for years, they got used to checking around a machine before backing up and always backing the machine into a shed so it could be driven out forwards to give best visibility. The program just suggests ways to change the things you can improve and lets you set the target for getting things done. "A lot of it is just farm practices changing." One of the things Jim is struggling with himself about is use of seatbelts on equipment. He says he always does up his seatbelt in his truck before going out on the road so he doesn't know why he has been averse to using it on field equipment but he admits he has been. The program is strictly voluntary and Gowland thinks farmers should get involved to make sure it stays that way. "We've been pretty well exempt from workplace safety standards in agriculture and that's a good thing," he says. "We've been fortunate not to have Ministry of Labour inspectors going over our farms." But farming is changing and farms are getting larger with more employees and unless farming .gets safer, the pressure is going to be on for government to protect the safety of farm workers. "We might as well do it ourselves right now," Jim says. The Agricultural Safety Audit Program is a good place to start, he feels.0 GB GREY -BRUCE CONSTRUCTION LTD. R.R. 5 MILDMAY, ONTARIO Phone (519) 367-2372 Fax (519) 367-2172 • Sandwich Walls • • Concrete Foundations • • Bunker Silos • • Crane Rental • • Excavation • Circular Tanks LARRY HOFFARTH (519) 364-4523 JIM POECHMAN (519) 367-2910 If you've got a lot of land to cover and hard work to do, take a Polaris RANGER. Nothing beats it for farm work, construction, hunting and other farm and recreational uses. GEORGIAN POWER SPORTS INC. Highway 6 south of p©LRRIS Durham RIDE THE BEST 519-369-3594 . MARCH 2000 19