The Rural Voice, 2001-07, Page 58BRUCE
Email: bruce@ofa.on.ca
website: www.ofa.on.ca/bruce
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551
' The Rural Voice is provided to Bruce
County Farmers by the BCFA.
School's out — a farm is not a playground!
Every year. children are the victims
of accidental death and injuries on
Canadian farms. As indicated by
studies done by the Canadian
Agricultural Injury Surveillance
Program. a significant cause of these
deaths and injuries is children (less than
15 years of age) being runover by
tractors and other farm equipment. The
facts speak for themselves:
• Among injuries to children, 67 per
cent of fatalities and 62 per cent of
hospitalizations involved agricultural
machinery.
• Among young farm children,
runovers by farm machinery accounted
for 44 per cern of fatalities.
• Among children killed on Canadian
farms, 69 per cent were offspring of the
farm owner/operator, and an additional
13 per cent were other relatives of the
owner/operator. A relatively small
percentage were visitors to the farm.
Very young children are at the
greatest risk of any age group for
runover injuries. The most typical
circumstance is that of a young child —
unnoticed in the farmyard — being run
over by a tractor or a farm wagon.
Tragically, the driver responsible is
often the child's parent.
The message is clear – children
must be kept safely away from farm
equipment.
One of the greatest safety
precautions that can be done for farm
children is to provide a fenced, safe -
play area near the house. Childcare
providers must be familiar with the
hazards on t he farm and know all the
safety rules. Close supervision of
children is essential at all times.
Remember, farm children live and
play in an industrial workplace. This
makes it even more important for
parents and childcare providers to be
directly involved in the,farm safety
education of their children.
Here are ten ways to protect and,
educate children on farm safety:
1. Lead by example. "Do as I say, not
as I du" just won't work when it comes
54 THE RURAL VOICE
to safety. You must consistently
practice the safety steps you ask of your
children. They'll do them, especially if
you do.
2. Be Consistent. As your child's most
important role model, you have to be
consistent and unwavering in setting
limits. Children love to look for the
exceptions to the rules. Don't let them
Lind any when it comes to safety.
3. Correct any hazards. You owe it to
yourself and family members who work
with you to keep your farmstead and
equipment in safe operating condition.
Farm safety walkabouts are a good way
for your family to identify hazards and
discuss options for making the farm
safe for everyone.
4. Use available resources. Thanks to
the increasing awareness of the
importance of farm safety matters,
many organizations offer local farm
safety programs. Use the special decals
and other safety materials many of
these programs and workshops offer.
5. Analyze the "close calls".
Fortunately, close calls I$appen more
often than accidents. These can be
excellent learning experiences. Take a
moment to describe what happened,
where the safety lapse occurred, and
how to prevent it in the future.
6. Follow their advice. Your children
will be learning about safety in their
schools and other settings. You may
find the roles reversed when they put
their lessons to work and point out your
safety shortcomings. Heeding their
advice will likely benefit both of you.
BRUCE COUNTY FEDERATION
OF AGRICULTURE
PLEASE NOTE:
There will be Nom,
Board of Directors'
meeting in July
7. Keep it real. Children respond well
to facts and reality. Tell them what they
need to know in a straightforward
manner. Answer questions with facts.
8. Make it easy. The safety standards
you set for yourself and your family
should be as simple as buckling a seat
belt, pulling on goggles, or not riding
where there's not a seat. Consult with a
farm safety resource person if you need
a third party to help you determine safe
practices that will be easy for all of you
to follow.
9. Explain what can happen. Uive
reasons. Tell your children why you're
asking them to do (or not do)
something.
10. Encourage them. Make a point to
compliment your children when they
perform good safety practices,
especially in instances that required 't
added work or good independent
judgement.0
- Reprinted with permission of
Farm Safety Association
OFA Successes
OFA has
• assisted hundreds of members
make RST rebate claims for past
purchases, with claims ranging in
size from $25 to $6,000.
• received government commitment
to maintain grant rates under the
Municipal Outlet Drainage Program
for 2000 and 2001.
• worked with local federations to
quash water -taking restrictions in
Norfolk that would have put some
farmers out of business.
• continue to work to secure funding
for the Environmental Farm Plan
program.
• Working to improve the
employment insurance system for
farm family members.
• provided support for the
development of the "Farm Line", a
new counselling and referral service
for Ontario farmers and their
families.G