Farmers need to force politicians and regulators to set standards based on what is possible on family farms, not based on ideals determined in city offices, said an expert in on-farm safety.
“If we don’t get talking about it now, with the full-blown implementation of these industrial regulations to agriculture, and with offshore competitors (who don’t have to follow the same rules), you can see what’s going to happen,” said Neil McManus, who has written a number of books on industrial safety standards.
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During an interview at the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association’s national convention in Winnipeg in November , he said farms have often been ignored by safety regulators, which has made them some of the most dangerous workplaces in Canada.
But a recent rush to impose what he considers unrealistic, unnecessary and unaffordable safety standards at various places in North America might kill off many small farms.
“I’m very concerned about agriculture’s ability to cope with these requirements,” he said.
McManus was critical of the way places like British Columbia and North Carolina have imposed rigorous standards on farms. Regulations have created a giant checklist for enforcement officers to take to farms for inspections.
The problem with imposing onerous industrial-type safety standards on farms is that most family-run operations can’t afford or practically comply with all the requirements, he said.
“The standards and the regulations are written for Cadillac/Rolls Royce operations. They are the only places in the economy that have the money to do these things that are required.”
McManus advocates a more practical approach to minimizing farm dangers.
A B.C. researcher recently proved the importance of this approach by compiling analysis of 20 years of on-farm fatalities.
Instead of confined space gas buildups causing most manure handling deaths, they were mostly caused by other factors such as trench cave-ins.
And many gas-related deaths did not occur in confined spaces, but in other parts of barns. That means farmers and regulators need to be looking for dangerous situations and understanding how they arise, rather than looking for specific problems.
McManus said the social and economic danger from unreasonable rules is that farming in North America will face the same plight as manufacturing.
“We’re already getting mushrooms from China. Don’t be surprised if all the rest of the food starts coming from there, just like all the rest of the manufactured goods do,” he said.
“We are witnessing the de-industrialization of North America.”
