84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 19, 1987
On being ft
a farm
-And
Joyce Bupp *
By gosh, they were right
Remember the flak that flew
several years back when OSHA
put out a safety pamphlet for far
mers? Written something in the
style of a Jack and Judy first
grader-primer, it included such
bits of wise advice as “manure is
slippery.”
By gosh, they were right
See, right here on my left knee?
Well, no, you really can’t see any
thing. But trust me, I can feel the
bruise is there when I kneel down
to play with our 13 non-barn
kittens.
The knee bruise came to be
when my frustration level skyrock
eted over a cow which trucked on
past her stall for the umpteenth
time the other afternoon, as we put
the herd into the bam for evening
chores. As I went ripping up the
center alley to head her off, my
wom-soled sneaker connected
with a fresh cow “pie” and down I
went onto my knee.
Later that evening, a headline
from our rural electric cooperative
newsletter jumped off the page and
socked me right in the gray matter.
"Knowing is not enough,” it said,
with a sub-heading noting that
National Farm Safety Week begins
tomorrow, September 20. Since
the article focused on electricity
related farm safety, manure wasn’t
even mentioned.
But it set me to thinking about
the accidents we’ve had around
here during some twenty-plus
years of dairy and crop production.
All things considered, we’ve been
pretty fortunate.
Only one accident of any conse
quence was electric related. On a
very wet Sunday morning several
years ago, a cow connected with an
electrical line at the grain bin that
had somehow shorted out. Of all
the bills we pay in a year’s time,
the occasional one for dead cow
removal probably hurts the most.
Still, cattle and equipment can
be replaced; people can’t be.
That reality got new emphasis
last December in what we now call
Dad’s bull-wrestling vacation. The
three days the farmer spent in a
Virginia hospital, after he was
rammed into a gate while loading a
mature and tame bull,
pounded home the farm safety
message. Only badly bruised and
sore for some weeks after, he was
luckier than many. The bull
related tales we’ve heard since just
stand your hair on end.
In a large majority of farm acci
dents (or any accidents), careless
ness —from hurrying, fatigue, and
sometimes frustration plays a
lead role.
A new growth of skin on the
palms of both my hands is a timely
example of my own blatant care
lessness. About two weeks ago,
getting the milking equipment
ready for evening chores, I appa
rently dumped into the udder wash
water not our normal teat cleaning
solution, but a pipeline acid sani
tizer instead. My hands, normally
sensitive to acids, broke out later in
ugly, watery, itchy, painful blis
ters. Fortunately, no one else help
ing to milk experienced similar
reactions, nor did it seem to affect
any cows.
I share this embarrassing inci-
dent of personal stupidity solely as
a reminder of the danger in not
paying strict attention when using
chemicals of any sort.
Of course, there are farm acci
dents that are just that: pure and
simple accident, fate, happen
stance, whatever you want to call
it For instance, anything from bro
ken noses to severe trauma and
internal injuries may follow the
pounding of a person by livestock
hooves if an animal is suddenly
spooked.
And equipment injuries, from
cut fingers, to' loss of limbs, to
death, is a tragedy far too familiar
to the fanning community. Chains,
belts, augers, and PTO’s move
anything in their way. Including
skin and bones.
With the hustle, hoopla and high
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Did You Know?
Forty percent of all 14 year olds
will become pregnant before the
age of 20, costing taxpayers
hopes of the harvest season just
getting undenqay, this upcoming
National Farm Safety week is a
sobering and timely reminder to
PLEASE BE CAREFUL!
And don’t forget. . . manure is
indeed slippery.
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