Mar 5, 2013 2 min read

As farmers prepare to take to the fields for spring planting, National Agricultural Safety Awareness Week, happening through Saturday, serves as a great opportunity to highlight the importance of agricultural safety. The purpose of the week is to remind agricultural producers that, in the rush of completing their tasks on farms, they need to take time to act safely and to repair or replace safety devices that protect them, their family members, and employees from injuries and fatalities.

Farm safety involves everyone – farm residents, both adults and children, employees, visitors and even neighbors. On today’s farm, one must be concerned about everything from maintaining buildings, machinery and vehicles in the best condition possible, to ensuring that employees are operating the farm equipment safely.

More information and safety checklists for farm, tractor, and pre-harvest safety are available on the Agriculture Safety Awareness Program website at www.agsafetynow.com.

During National Agricultural Safety Awareness Week, the Washington County Farm Bureau encourages everyone to learn more about agriculture and agricultural safety. Aside from helping our farmers and farm families to remain safe, keeping ag-related accidents low means food prices will remain affordable.

Laura Zoeller

Prosperity

Zoeller is the information director for the Washington County Farm Bureau.