Before Planting Season, Lebanon 4-H Club Practices Farm Safety
Leon Stump demonstrates
Lebanon Expo Center.
(Continued from Page A 1)
safety; John Lehman, Lebanon,
on rollover protection and road
safety; silo safety, by Leon
Stump, Upper Lawn; and Drew
Pausher, Lebanon, on grain bin
safety.
Also speaking were Jesse
Stump, on a rollover protection
system (ROPS) for tractors and
Joe Mills, Lebanon, fire extin
guisher facts.
Said Jesse Stump, “On any
kind of tractor, even if it’s big, if
there is no ROPS, the tractor
could roll over and you could
die.”
Two representatives of Cedar
Crest FFA spoke about a farm
Farm Health And Safety Checklist
Editor’s Note: This is adapted
from the ' Farm Health and
Safety Project by the Newfound
land and Labrador Federation of
Agriculture from the Canadian
Agricultural Safety Program
(CASP) and the Department of
Forest Resources and Agrifoods.
The Importance Of Farm Safety
Farming is a demanding busi
ness which exposes farmers,
farm workers and farm families
to a wide range of safety hazards
on a daily basis. It involves, for
example, the extensive use of:
• Heavy machinery and
moving equipment which can
cause serious personal injury or
death.
• Agricultural chemicals
which are toxic to both humans
and animals.
• A wide variety of tools, im
plements and equipment that
can fall on farm workers, slip
during use and take off a limb if
used improperly or without ade
quate protective measures.
• Electrical, fuel-driven and
propane-driven machinery and
tools that can cause injury and
property damage.
• Bulk commodities and sup
plies which can fall on workers
or into which workers can fall.
• Scaling equipment such as
ladders, scaffolding and over
head walkways which can
become worn or slippery.
Less dramatic, perhaps, but
equally important, are farm
health hazards such as:
• Hearing loss from noisy
machinery and tools.
• Back problems from lifting
heavy loads.
• Breathing difficulties from
inhalingrespiratory irritants.
• Cuts and abrasions from
sharp objects left in lumber
piles.
This is just a brief illustration
safety around silos at the
££ .. .72 percent of
the areas have non
functional fire ex
tinguishers. Of
those that do, the
extinguishers are
inadequate or not
charged. 9 5
Beth Kreider
Cedar Crest FFA
of the potential dangers to
which farmers and farm work
ers are routinely exposed.
Accident Prevention
• Have any farm workers (in
cluding family members) re
ceived instruction in safe
working practices?
• Are emergency phone num
bers listed and posted in promi
nent places (e.g. by telephones
and in main work areas)?
Medical
• Is there a first aid kit avail
able in the farmyard, house,
barn or the main farm build
ings? Is there a first aid kit avail
able for when workers are not
within easy access to the farm
yard or farm buildings (e.g. in
vehicles)?
, •Is someone on the farm
with formal training in first aid?
• Are guards and shields
always kept in place when farm
machinery is in use?
• Is the power always turned
off before machinery is adjusted,
repaired, or unclogged?
• Is it a standard rule on your
farm to not allow extra riders on
farm equipment?
• Do farm workers always
check to ensure children and an
imals are not close by before
starting up farm machinery and
equipment?
• Are seatbelts always used
on tractors equipped with Roll
1 Over Protective Structures?
• Are drawbar loads always
hitched to a drawbar rather than
to the tractor’s axle, frame or
raised three-point hitch?
• Are manufacturers’ recom
mendations for adding front
end weights always followed
when using rear mounted imple
ments on tractors?
• Are all tractors and self
propelled machines equipped
with a dry chemical fire extin-
These children attentively watch a rollover protective structure safety demonstration
at the Lebanon Expo Center.
fire extinguisher survey con
ducted on 10 farms in the area.
Carl Eisenhauer and Beth
Kreider, Cedar Crest FFA mem
bers, spoke about the need for
fire extinguishers on the farm.
Said Kreider, only a “third of
the areas on average farms had
fire extinguishers. There’s a tre
mendous need, because 72 per
cent of the areas have
nonfunctional fire extinguishers.
Of those that do, the extinguish
ers are inadequate or not
charged.”
guisher?
• Are doors and windows in
buildings always open when ve
hicles or equipment with inter
nal combustion engines are
started or run indoors?
• Are flashing lights mounted
on all farm equipment trans
ported on public roads?
• Do farm machinery opera
tors at all times wear clothing
which is tight-fitting and not
tom or ragged when working
near machinery?
• Are farm equipment in
structional manuals readily
available to operators?
• Are farm tractors and other
self-propelled vehicles always
kept in good working order (e.g.
periodic brake adjustments,
properly inflated tires, hydraulic
hoses kept in good condition,
etc.)?
• Do all farm equipment op
erators know how to stabilize a
piece of farm equipment using
jacks and blocks before repair
ing or servicing the equipment?
• Is all trailing equipment
fitted with safety chains and
locking devices to keep hitch
pins from falling out?
• Are all steps, ladders and
platforms on farm equipment
kept clear of mud and other ma
terial which may cause slipping
or falling?
Have all farm workers using
agricultural chemicals taken a
pesticides course?
• Are all agricultural chemi
cals stored in a locked room or
building away from animal,
feed, seeds and living quarters?
• Are signs posted next to all
chemical storage areas to warn
of the potential hazards inside?
• Are chemicals always
stored in their original contain
ers with the labels clearly intact?
• Are empty chemical con
Working with Penn State ex
tension, the Cedar Crest FFA
was able to obtain Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture
grant money to purchase a lim
ited number of extinguishers for
some farms. They will be avail
able from extension on a first
come, first-serve basis.
An average farm, to be ade
quately protected, may need
more than two dozen extin
guishers, charged and fully
functional.
Kreider noted that on equip-
tainers always disposed of
promptly and safely?
• Is your chemical mixing
area either outside or in an open,
well-ventilated area?
• Are noncompatibie chemi
cals in storage always physically
isolated from one another?
•Is personal protective
equipment (including gloves,
goggles, respirators, aprons and
hard-shell hats) always used by
farm workers when applying or
handling farm chemicals?
• Are fuel storage tanks at
least 40 feet from the nearest
building?
• Are fuel storage tanks lo
cated where they will not be
struck by vehicles and machin
ery?
• Is the condition of under
ground fuel storage tanks
checked periodically to ensure
there is no leakage?
• Are dry chemical fire extin
guishers readily available in all
fuel storage areas?
• Are fuel storage hoses, noz
zles and pumps always kept in
good condition, and vents kept
clean and free of dirt?
• Are approved safety con
tainers always used to store
small quantities of gasoline, ker
osene or diesel fuel?
• Are all bulk propane stor
age tanks located at least the
minimum distance of 10 feet
from the nearest building?
• Are all propane system re
gulators and gauges protected
from weather and dirt?
• Are areas around fuel tanks
and pumps always kept free of
weeds, trash and other combus
tible materials?
• Are “no smoking’’ signs
posted in all fuel storage and
handling areas and other places
where combustible materials are
located?
Electricity
• Are all wiring, power cords,
plugs and switches in farm
buildings and around the farm
kept in good condition?
• Does the electrical system
merit, combines should have
two, including one in front and
in back. Each floor of a farm
house should have one. Extin
guishers should be placed “near
hazardous areas on the farm,”
she said.
In the tractor driving contest
competition conducted by the
club last Saturday, top driver
awards were presented to Jerry
Musser and Clark Zimmerman.
For more information about
the club, contact Del Voight at
the extension, (717) 270-4391.
Joe Mills provides tips on
fire extinguisher use at the
countywide farm safety
evening.
have ample capacity to handle
ail loads?
Hand, Power Tools
• Are all stationary power
tools grounded and all portable
power tools either double insu
lated or of the three-wire
grounded type?
• Are portable power tools
always disconnected when not
in use?
• Are all stationary tools such
as grinders and saws properly
shielded and the shields always
in place when in use?
• Are all hand tools (espe
cially cutting tools like saws,
axes and knives) properly stored
so they cannot fall or be brushed
against accidentally?
• Is your welding area well
ventilated?
• Are all work areas well lit?
Answers: All should be “yes.”