Farm safety spotlighted by Ag for Life during Whoop-Up Days

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on August 23, 2022.

Submitted photo The Rural Safety Unit will be at Whoop-Up Days teaching the importance of safety and awareness on rural environments.

Agriculture for Life’s Rural Safety Unit will be in Lethbridge for Whoop-Up Days, Aug. 23 – 27, spreading awareness on rural and farm safety.

With programming engaging participants on safety topics like hazard identification, risk assessment, and protective equipment, the Safety Unit looks to reduce the number of serious incidents and fatalities that can occur in the agriculture field through fun and education.

“The Rural Safety Unit was designed to educate rural youth about many of the hazards that they might find in and around rural environments that are unique to those areas. Such as livestock, large equipment, open bodies of water, things that you are not going to necessarily find within the urban centers. Whether you live on, visit, or you’re out and about in rural Alberta, you would definitely face many of those hazards. We wanted to really bring awareness to that,” said Luree Williamson, CEO of Agriculture for Life.

According to the Injury Prevention Centre, from statistics from 1990 to 2013, there were about 18 farm deaths every year, with males making up 90 per cent of those numbers. Forty-seven per cent of deaths happened to an owner or operator of the equipment in use, and 23 per cent of deaths involved a child related to them. The top five causes of agricultural fatalities involve machine run-overs, roll-overs, being struck by a machine, animal related, and machine entanglements.

The Safety Unit looks to curb those numbers with interactive games, and videos to help educate awareness and lower the numbers on accidents and deaths.

“The games are designed to reinforce safety concepts. Areas within the trailer include hazard identification: can you identify what a hazard is? We also talk about large equipment, large animals, personal protective equipment, and utility overhead and underlying power lines. These areas were chosen because a number of injuries and fatalities that occur every year are caused by many of those mechanisms and those particular hazards,” said Williamson. “We have staff that work in the trailer who love to have conversations with visitors. People are always wonderful, sharing their farm stories. Saying things like ‘I know about this’ or ‘I should have listened to that.’ We have a lot of engagement with families as they come through the trailer.”

Operating between the months of April and October the Safety Unit tailors its programming towards its audiences, with school programs for grades 6-12 and community events like Whoop-Up Days.

“This is the second stop this year. With the world opening back up again, we’re just getting going again. We’re really excited to be able to get out into communities and reinforce the safety message for the youth,” said Williamson. “We like using games as a learning tool, because everybody enjoys having a fun time learning. One of the most popular games is the Hazard Hunt Game. Participants will look at how to identify the hazard. They have to choose hazards based on different farm yard scenarios. They’re always engaged as they try and understand where the hazard is, and then what and why it’s a hazard.”

“It’s really about the importance of building awareness around safety. That reminder, because sometimes we get complacent in our everyday activities. But we have to be very aware of safety, and how it is always top of mind. That’s the push we try and advocate for, and to make students their own ambassadors for safety. To empower them on what’s safe and what isn’t,” said Williamson.