CAMROSE, Alta. – “I can’t get my husband to wear all this regalia,” moaned Fran Howell.
“I can get them to wear the apron, gloves and rubber boots, but that’s all.”
These were the opening lines to a skit performed at the Alberta Women’s Institutes convention here recently, but the same words have been echoed throughout the Prairies by many farm women.
“We really have to be particular about what farmers will wear,” said Howell, dressed in unbreathable coveralls, rubber apron, gloves, boots, safety glass and hard hat.
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Howell was only two minutes into the skit when she started to peel off the layers of protective clothing recommended for farmers when they’re spraying farm chemicals.
Howell, provincial environmental conservation convener for Alberta Women’s Institutes, said if she couldn’t stand all the clothing in an air conditioned building for five minutes, how can she expect her husband and son to wear all the safety gear outside in the hot sun when they are mixing farm spray.
Howell and Marion Brown, the institute’s convener for agriculture and Canadian industry, were trying to make farm women aware of safety regulations during the busy spraying season.
Instead of trying to do the impossible and get farmers to wear all the protective clothing, the emphasis should be encouraging chemical companies to use more of the small dissolvable pouches of chemical, they said.
The couple also reminded women they must be aware of environmental regulations that govern spraying.
“Farmers must practice due diligence,” said Brown in recommending farmers familiarize themselves with the laws.
Howell’s answer was typical of most farmers: “I’m too busy to read all these statues and acts. I get defeated before we get started.”
But Brown’s reply was simple: “You’ll be in trouble and the government will take over. If we don’t take control, the government will.”
