Dairy farmer, Brett Reinford, says that most incidents on the farm, even the accident he had, are entirely preventable. With National Farm Safety and Health Week starting on September 18, the Center for Dairy Excellence and the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania (PDMP) have rolled out a series of farm safety videos available to help dairy producers share simple safety reminders with farm employees all year long, but especially during the upcoming fall harvest season.
“It’s just proper training, common sense, and making sure people have the right abilities to run the machines they’re operating,” Reinford, who shared his farm safety story in one of the Center’s Cow-Side Conversations podcast episodes, said.
“Start with the simple things,” he says. “They often don’t cost a lot, and they can save you a lot of money. I’m well over $200,000 on the incident I had on my farm, and it was entirely preventable.”
The Center and PDMP’s “Seconds for Your Safety” videos, which are approximately 60 seconds in length, are available in both English and Spanish. They can be watched and shared easily on a computer or cell phone.
With the help of Katie Dotterer, who grew up on her family’s Pennsylvania dairy farm and shares her passion for agriculture with others at agvokate.com, narrated all the videos in both English and Spanish. The following videos are currently available:
• Fall Prevention Measures
• Youth on the Farm
• Safety Hazards and Precautions for Horizontal Silos
“Farm safety is important all year long, but September is a good time to put some extra thought and focus into keeping your dairy farm team safe, especially during fall harvest,” said Jayne Sebright, Executive Director at the Center for Dairy Excellence. “These videos are quick yet filled with helpful reminders you can share with your team, and the safety signs can help you make sure you have the proper safety precautions in place on your dairy operation.”
The Center and PDMP also have free sets of farm safety signs available to help producers display important safety reminders throughout their facilities. Six different signs are available in the set, including a blank one that producers can customize for their operations. English and Spanish are both included on the signs.
To request safety signs to be mailed to you while supplies last, visit www.centerfordairyexcellence.org/farm-safety or call 717-346-0849
