The Rural Voice, 1995-03, Page 48Farm Safety
dusty conditions. A farmer who is
working indoors can inhale a large
amount of dust in a very short time.
There arc several measures that
will minimize exposure to dust.
• Provide as much ventilation as
possible when working in dusty
areas.
• Move the work outdoors
whenever possible.
• Avoid dusty work in confined
areas. Keep facilities as open as
possible.
• Keep your distance when you
have to work with moldy material.
• Wet down the area when cleaning
out grain bins or other areas that arc
likely to be dusty.
An approved toxic dust respirator
is recommended for dusty conditions.
The device has to be worn correctly
to ensure that no leakage occurs
around the seal. If there is a leak,
you can be sure the contaminated air
will come through. Facial hair, either
a full beard or one day stubble, can
prevent a good seal. The literature
describes a quick and easy method to
check that there isn't a leak in the
protection device.
Safety people are becoming
increasingly alarmed about the
dangers of working in dusty
conditions. It's not difficult to
encounter someone who has to be
very careful about dust because of
too much exposure earlier in their
life. It's well known that one must
be particularly careful of the fine dust
that is found in poultry and hog
barns.0
Management
Canadian farmers in
expansive mood
Canadian farmers are feeling
good about the future according to a
study conducted by Tom Funk,
professor of agricultural economics
and business at the University of
Guelph. "They know they need to
either be more specialized or more
diversified to stay competitive in the
changing market, and that means
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Management
getting bigger."
Funk says the upbeat attitude has
a lot to do with the GATT and free
trade agreements. After years of
uncertainty, farmers now know that
traditional pillars in some agricultural
sectors such as marketing boards and
production quotas in dairy and
poultry, will fall away. As a result,
they can plan accordingly.
Farmers are reacting in "a
business -like way", Funk says. For
dairy and poultry producers, that
means expanding, spreading costs
over more units of production. Grain
producers, who have been subject to
price fluctuations in traditional
commodities such as wheat, are
diversifying in search of income
stability and capturing some niche or
expanding market opportunities.
They're planning to delve into such
crops as sunflowers, vegetables,
lentils and — in some cases — exotic
livestock such as reindeer. They're
also considering more independent
initiatives such as roadside sales,
direct contracts with supermarkets
and some on-farm processing.
Funk's survey was distributed
across the country to corn, soy,
wheat, barley, canola, potato, dairy,
hog, bean and poultry producers.
Some of the findings were:
• Economic: In the face of the GATT
and free trade agreements, Canadian
farmers are less worried than their
U.S. counterparts, (who Funk
surveyed last year) about the survival
of their business, financing and
getting better value for their money.
Funk found Americans more
disgruntled and unhappy with
farming as an occupation than
Canadians.
• Regional: Canadian farmers'
responses to expansion varied greatly
from region to region. In the grain -
intensive west, farmers are the most
likely to be looking for
diversification opportunities. Ontario
farmers are most likely to rent more
land. Quebec farmers are on the look
out for specialization opportunities,
and the main goal of Atlantic farmers
is to minimize cost per unit of input.
•Environmental: Meeting new
regulations regarding environmental
practices was considered a significant