Farm accident urges M.D. to be proactive in farm safety

A recent and serious farm accident sparked a discussion with Municipal District of Taber council about the importance of safety during harvest season. The discussion took place during council’s regular meeting on Sept. 23.

“Everybody gets in a hurry this time of year, and it’s important to sit back and reflect on some of the proper techniques,” said Division 4 Coun. Ben Elfring.

Reeve Brian Brewin said M.D. administration or council could take a more active role in promoting farm safety in the area, and that is something which could be discussed by the Ag service board.

“It’s something we could look at,” he said. “It falls kind of into their mandate for that.”

Brewin said he was in favour of the idea of holding some presentations on farm safety, and Derrick Krizsan, municipal administrator, said there were several organizations who might be contacted for help in this area. He noted a a bit of a change in direction might be in order to have a more direct influence on current farming practices.

“Rather than focusing on schools, maybe they can focus on the people who are actually doing the work,” he said.

According to Farm Safety Centre statistics on their website, agriculture ranks as Canada’s third most hazardous industry. In terms of absolute numbers of fatalities, there is no more dangerous occupation.

There were 1,769 agricultural fatalities in Canada from 1990-2005, and farm equipment was involved in 70.9% of fatalities.

Of those fatally injured as a result of agricultural work, 91.6% were male. Of children aged fourteen and under, however, the following were the most predominant causes of farm-related fatalities:

Machine runovers, 41.9 per cent;

Drowning, 15.2 per cent;

Machine rollovers, 11.1 per cent;

Animal-related, 6.5 per cent; and

Crushed under an object, 5.1 per cent.

“It’s the same old thing,” said Elfring. “When you get in a rush, accidents do happen.”

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