Editorial: Let’s all stay safe at harvest-time

There are few industries that feature a concentrated and ongoing effort like harvest time on a farm. The culmination of an entire season’s work rests on your efforts between now and the arrival of winter. It really is sometimes now or never. That was certainly the case at times on our family’s operation. My hometown

The flying hook’s impact shattered the fibreglass fender of the tractor being used to pull out a stuck truck.

Flying hook nearly hits farmer

Wawanesa farmer warns others not to use a tow rope with hook to extract a stuck vehicle

A Wawanesa farmer was left shaken earlier this month after bolts on a truck he was trying to tow broke, sending a tow rope and metal hook hurtling at him at bullet speed. The tow rope snapped like a slingshot and the impact of the hook on the end of it shattered the tractor’s fibreglass


Comment: Agriculture’s greatest innovation

Farms are still dangerous, but they’ve got a lot better over the years

In my youth, May brought two noticeable changes to the big Lutheran Church my family faithfully attended. The first was heat. No building on earth better held daytime heat from Mother’s Day through Reformation Day than that century-old house of worship. The second was the season’s short-sleeved parade of lost limbs, a brutal testament to


Five need-to-know facts about occupational health and safety laws

Five need-to-know facts about occupational health and safety laws

Make sure you now what to expect from the legislation in your province

If you have employees, your farm falls under the provincial occupational health and safety legislation for your province. Each province has slightly different rules, but this is the law and if you are not in compliance you can be fined. You could even be sued, though that would come from the individual employee rather than


Farmers urged to make a commitment to safety

The first step is to have a conversation about what safety means on your operation

The theme of Canadian Agricultural Safety Week from March 12 to 18 is ‘Be an AgSafe Family.’ This article by the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association talks about the impact of a farm fatality on a family and the farm. Statistics tell us that each year approximately 85 Canadians are killed in an agriculture-related incident. Run-overs,

Turn on the the six-inch auger under this bin and this mannequin will be chest deep in grain in just eight or nine seconds, says Glen Blahey.

Trapped in a flash — the horror waiting inside a grain bin

It happens with lightning speed and once you’re trapped, all you can do is pray that someone comes soon

If you’ve ever had a near miss in a grain bin — and lots of you have — this is the horrible fate you nearly suffered. It starts when your foot sinks past the ankle and the grain reaches your lower calf. Eight or nine seconds later, the grain is up to your chest. And

Rosser Holsteins, located west of Winnipeg, covers 2,500 acres and has 500 dairy cows.

Creating a safety culture at one Manitoba dairy

Workplace safety is a buzzword at Rosser Holsteins west of Winnipeg

Time is the enemy, particularly when it comes to injury risk, according to Henry Holtmann, of Rosser Holsteins outside of Winnipeg. “In times when we think we don’t have time for safety, we have to really step back and make time, because the consequences of not making time are actually you lose more time,” he


 It can take just seconds to be trapped in grain.

Farm safety to be a highlight of Ag Days

Farming is a hazardous business and Ag Days aims 
to help build a culture of safety

Canada’s agricultural industry is one of the top three most hazardous industries in which to work. According to the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA), while 85 per cent of Canadian producers believe safety is a priority on their farm, less than 10 per cent currently have an agricultural safety plan on their farm or ranch.

Dan Mazier, KAP president.

Feds, province invest $432,000 towards farm safety education and training

Keystone Agricultural Producers will administer the new program. 
The hope is for sweeping change in attitudes towards safety, KAP president says

Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) will receive a major cash injection of $432,000 over the next two years to establish a broad-reaching and extensive new farm safety program. The funds announced by both provincial and federal ag ministers last week will flow through Growing Forward 2 and used to provide practical, on-farm expertise, resources and training