Farm Safety

Animal Handling

• Farm animals are not pets
• Avoid sudden movements or noises
• Wear hard shoes with steel toes
• Avoid the hind legs of animals
• Approach large animals from the side
• Speak softly
• Avoid shadows
• Avoid animals with their newborns
• Hold the halter close to the animal's head
• Never tie the lead rope around an arm, waist, or neck
• Never tease an animal
• Kids should never enter a fence or pen without supervision

ATV Safety

• Wear a helmet and protective clothing
• No passengers
• Don't show off
• Avoid paved roads
• Take a training course

Grain Safety

• Entrapment can take place in less than 1 minute
• Stay out of bin if you are working alone. Use lifelines and harnesses to prevent engulfment
• Don't walk over the surface of crusted or caked grain in a bin. Large air pockets can form below the grain surface
• Turn off all unloading equipment before going into a bin. Lock switches in the off position
• Never let children ride or play in bins or on grain trucks, wagons or grain piles
• If a person becomes trapped in grain, shut off power unloading equipment immediately. Turn on the aeration fan and call your local rescue squad

Machinery Safety

• There are 300 tractor fatalities annually
• Wear a seat belt and install a Rollover Protection Structure (ROPS)
• Keep wheels spread wide whenever possible
• Reduce speed when turning corners
•  Travel with bucket low
•  Back up steep slopes to prevent rollover
•  Do not allow passengers to ride on tractor or in bucket

Manure Safety

• Manure pits produce four harmful gases: hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, ammonia and methane which can accumulate in high concentrations
• Children and adults can drown in pits, commonly as deep as 8 feet
• Pits typically have very steep walls, making escape nearly impossible
• Hydrogen Sulfide: smells like rotten eggs; causes paralysis of breathing; is flammable
• Carbon Dioxide: odorless and colorless; can cause suffocation
• Ammonia: odor of smelling salts; burns eyes, nose, throat and lungs; found in almost all animal buildings
• Methane: odorless, flammable, and explosive

Pesticides

• Never leave pesticides unattended
• Pesticides must be stored in a separate area for chemicals in the original, labeled container
• The storage area must be locked, screened and ventilated to the outside with chemical storage warning placards
• Storage area should be cool and dry to prevent product breakdown or inactivation
• Insecticides, herbicides and fungicides should be stored separately from each other
• Protective clothing (gloves, hat, coveralls, boots, eye and respiratory equipment) must be worn when handling pesticides and other chemicals
•  Don't walk or play where pesticides have been sprayed
•  Stay inside during crop-dusting
•  Lock up coated seeds–do not ingest 

Rural Road Safety

• Buckle up on farm equipment and vehicles
• Share the road with slow-moving farm machinery
•  Never ride in the back of a pickup
•  Drive carefully on gravel
•  Watch for stop signs and obey traffic rules
•  When driving farm machinery, obey traffic laws and yield to other vehicles