The Rural Voice, 1980-08, Page 33ADVICE ON FARMING
TRACTOR
ROLLOVERS:
Number one cause of farm fatalities
Tractor rollovers remained the number
one cause of accidental deaths on Ontario
farms in 1979 according to a recent report
by the Farm Safety Association of Ontario.
The association's survey of farm fatal-
ities in the province states that tractor roll-
overs accounted for 17 of the 44 accidental
deaths reported last year. Tractor -related
accidents were responsible for another six
lives.
"Each year, tractor rollovers and other
tractor -related accidents cause more than
one-half of the accidental deaths on the
farm," says Larry Swinn, association
public relations coordinator.
Sideway rollovers are the most common
type of tractor accident. These can occur on
slopes and ditch banks, or during routine
operations if the operator drives, brakes, or
turns too quickly. Last year this type of
accident resulted in 10 deaths.
Rear rollovers, although less common,
are almost always fatal, say farm safety
consultants. A tractor can flip over in less
than one and one-half seconds after the
front wheels leave the ground. Seven fatal
rear rollovers were reported to the farm
safety association last year.
"The best way to prevent tractor
rollovers and other types of tractor
accidents is to follow sensible operating
NORTHERN ONTARIO
HAS POTENTIAL AS PASTURE
The northern Ontario climate may rule
out traditional cash crops such as soybeans
and corn, but it doesn't limit the
production of pasture, another type of cash
crop.
The Timiskaming Pasture Development
Project, now in its fourth year, shows that
one hectare of pasture land is capable of
producing 325 kilograms of liveweight beef
gain (300 pounds per acre.)
"This confirms the potential for livestock
production in the north," says Walker
Riley, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and
Food soils and crops specialist. "There is
some feed grain production in that area
that could be channeled into local markets.
This grain, combined with improved
pasture management, could make raising
beef economically feasible.
Traditionally, northern Ontario beef
producers sold beef as weanlings at about
225 kg (500 Ib.) through the northern
feeder sales. In the past five years, the
trend has been moving away from selling
weanlings, and toward selling short keeps
at about 360 kg (800 Ib.)
"Instead of selling the calves, many
producers are keeping them over the
second summer," says Mr. Riley. "This
system is economically sound, providing
we can increase the production of our
pastures.
The Timiskaming Pasture Project, fund-
ed by the Ministry of Northern Affairs in
cooperation with the Ministry of Agricul-
ture and Food, is trying to find ways of
improving northern pastures to make them
more productive.
The project operates on 64 ha (160 ac) of
land on loan from the Agricultural
Rehabilitation and Development Act
(ARDA) Community Pasture, near Earlton,
in Timiskaming District. The area is
divided into five paddocks, each equipped
with shade, water, minerals and fly
control. Each paddock is treated with
different fertilizers and seeded in different
mixtures of grasses and legumes. Cattle
practices," says Mr. Swinn. "Rollover
protection installed on tractors could also
save many lives."
The Farm Safety Association report is
based on a number of sources including the
Workmen's Compensation Board, the Ont-
ario Provincial Police, newspaper. -s and
reports by individuals. Other causes of
accidental deaths in the 1979 report were
falls, machinery injuries and manure gas.
The accident statistics show that no age
group of farmers or family members was
immune to farm accidents --from the most
experienced to the very young.
"Twenty, or almost half, of the people
killed in farm accidents were under 25
years old", says Mr. Swinn. "Twenty per
cent of these were less than 15."
The Farm Safety Association is planning
special safety programs for rural element-
ary school students to reduce these
accidents. The Rural Ontario Safety Kit,
including games and instructional mater-
ials, will be introduced to 10 boards of
education in the fall as a pilot program.
participating in the 120 day test are
weighed monthly for rate of gain.
"Our results to date indicate that
liveweight gains of 325 kg/ha (300 lb/ac)
per season are easily attainable," says Mr.
Riley. "In fact, there is a potential for
another 50 per cent yield increase."
This summer, tests will compare grass
species fertilized with nitrogen, phosphor-
us, and potassium, with bird's -foot trefoil
fertilized without nitrogen, to determine
the most economical means of achieving
these rates of gain.
Wild animals fed hamburger
in Huron County
Although it's still in planning stages, it
may be possible a control for the increasing
rabies problem among wild animals in
southwestern Ontario has been found.
According to Bob Pegg at the Depart-
ment of Natural Resources in Wingham,
experiments have been carried out for the
past seven years to determine what food is
the most delectable to wild animals
commonly affected with the disease.
Finding rotten hamburger to be the most
popular, researchers eventually hope to
lace the hamburger with an oral rabies
vaccine.
In a recent trial run to see how readily
the foxes, skunks and coyotes ate the
hamburger baits, 20,000 hamburger balls
were dropped by aircraft into the woods of
Huron County.
As part of the trial run, the bait was
injected with an antibiotic called tetra-
cycline. Used as a marker, the antibiotic
shows up under ultra -violet examination of
the animals' teeth. Researchers hope it will
determine how many animals went for the
bait and what affects it had on domestic
animals.
According to Mr. Pegg, southwestern
Ontario has the highest rate of rabies in the
world.
THE RURAL VOICE/AUGUST 1980 Pa. 31