This year’s difficult harvest may cause more farm accidents than what’s been normal in the past few years, say prairie farm safety groups.
“The number of injuries has come down somewhat according to statistics from Saskatchewan Labour,” said Bob Elian, co-ordinator of Saskatchewan Farmers with Disabilities. He attributed the decrease partly to the past couple of years of drought that made harvest easier, shorter and less stressful.
“On this type of year when there is a heavy crop and the weather is uncertain and harvest delayed and late, there is a greater danger of accident.”
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Elian said he had had no reports of farm accidents in Saskatchewan as of Sept. 22, but worried that when farmers are tired they don’t follow safety procedures that they know they should, such as removing but not restoring machinery shields when doing repairs or maintenance.
Neil Enns of Manitoba Farmers with Disabilities said this year’s harvest will cause more stress.
“The push comes to shove. (The farmer says,) ‘it’s got to get done, it’s got to get done.’ “
Enns said hands and arms are more vulnerable than legs.
“I just got a call yesterday about an amputation. A man in St. Joseph, Man., lost a hand in an auger.”
However, Enns said the safety message is getting through because he hears from people who know of the group and want him or other members to speak at a public event.
Both disabled farmer groups plan to hold conferences in November.
Laurel Aitken, farm safety co-ordinator for Alberta Agriculture, said it’s hard to know whether there will be more accidents because farmers are stressed by what’s happening in the agriculture industry. She said there have already been accidents this fall in Alberta, including one fatality. A 13-year-old girl on an all-terrain vehicle was killed when it collided with a tractor.
Aitken said when people are busy and tired the chores they have done 1,000 times before can cause problems.
“We encourage farmers to take regular rest breaks, get lots of sleep and eat some real food.”
According to statistics from the Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance Program, there are 130 farm-related deaths each year. As well, 1,200 people are hospitalized from farm-related injuries and 50,000 others seek medical attention or take one day away from work. Two-thirds of fatalities and half the hospitalized injuries are due to agricultural machinery.
