Latest News From Safety

Some farming operations have been ruined by PFAS, but there's still things the industry doesn't know, including how PFAS enters the food chain. John Phipps thinks the debate over PFAS may just be getting started.

Cybersecurity is no longer just about avoiding those sketchy phishing emails or resetting our passwords. It’s about being aware of our online presence in animal ag and how that may make us vulnerable to extremists.

The changing of the seasons means farms will soon be firing on all cylinders to make sure everything gets done. To speed things along, some farms enlist outside help. These lending hands also present safety risks.

Farm employees are a critical piece of our operation and keeping them safe should be every farm’s top priority. However, accidents can happen in the blink of an eye, especially when large equipment is involved.

Areas in the upper Midwest, Mid-South and Mid-Atlantic are being impacted. The American Veterinary Medical Association says to monitor animals as well as people and take precautions to keep everyone safe.

Dangerous gases from manure, silage, and equipment pose a hazard – often unseen and potentially deadly – to dairy employees.

According to Castro County Sheriff Sal Rivera, officials believe a honey vac machine, which sucks the manure out of cow lanes, may have been the initial source of the fire. Questions remain on why it spread so quickly.

During the rush of corn silage harvest, safety often takes a back seat. However, tragedy can strike in the blink of an eye.

Silage-making season is here, and with it comes the need for heightened safety awareness.

Purdue reported 23 fatalities related to grain bin entrapment in 2019. These stories haunted a city-dwelling film producer, Sam Goldberg, prompting him to share the dangers in putting food on the world's table.

UNL researchers found that planting, harvest and calving season shave off 28 minutes of a farmer’s sleep each night, while fewer than 7.5 hours increases their risk of injury by 61%.

This week, dangerous heat is sweeping across Texas to Wisconsin to Ohio to Georgia.

Although the industry has come a long way when it comes to farm safety, about every three days, a child dies in an ag-related incident, and each day, 33 children are injured. Farm safety expert Barbara Lee weighs in.

Silage-making season is upon us. It’s a harried time of year with all hands – and sometimes even extra hands – on deck.

Tractor rollovers, grain suffocations, deadly fumes — the list goes on. Farming is one of the deadliest professions in the world. Dairy farmer, Cathy Mess considers herself very lucky to not add to that statistic.

Compared to the national average of 70%, rural America falls behind with only 34% of the adult population vaccinated.

Farming is among the most dangerous occupations in the United States, and dairy farming presents even more hazards than crop farming due to animals, feed and on-farm chemicals that are handled daily.

It doesn’t matter if your employees present clinical signs or if they feel “fine,” if they test positive for COVID-19, they need to leave the farm and self-isolate. Here are 4 steps to prevent future transmission.

Domestic animals do not pass the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 on to people, current research shows.

Disaster can strike without a moment’s notice. Whether it be a fire, tornado or even an airplane falling from the sky, you will never be able to predict when a disaster may occur.

Create an emergency response plan for your farm

Whether it’s an employee or trespasser, accidental injury or death could mean months and years of legal hurdles for the farm. Use winter down time to prepare your farm, just in case the worst happens.

Take a moment to meet with harvest staff to go through safety guidelines.

Farmers can prevent hay fires by monitoring hay temperature after baling according to Tim Schnakenberg, agronomy specialist with University of Missouri Extension.

As this area of equipment evolves, keep safety in mind. ATVs and UTVs both offer good utility on the farm and they can respond differently in times of challenge.

During winter months, it’s even more important that farmers inspect livestock facilities before installing additional heaters and inspect electrical wiring for damage.

Accidents on farms and ranches can be quite severe, and space in a first aid kit is limited, so it is important to choose items for kits wisely.

All farmers need to know what, where and how they will keep the farm operation going during a disaster. Here's five areas to secure your farm operation survives.

Today is the deadliest driving day of the year.

By knowing what risks are the greatest for your farm, you can properly mitigate them.

Iowa State Extension offers four guideline publications to help livestock producers safely manage manure.

Train employees to be smart about PTO dangers. Here's what to watch for.

The recent death of Wisconsin farmers in a silage silo is a heartbreaking reminder of the importance of silage safety.

Wisconsin farmer Daniel Briel and his 14-year-old son David Briel were killed in a silo collapse this weekend.

Safety on the farm is a year-round worry. And livestock operations often carry the most risk. Equipment companies are making an effort to promote equipment safety with livestock producers.

A farmer in Portage County, Wis. has been overcome by deadly fumes from a manure holding tank.

Texas fined Blue Bell Creameries for a listeria contamination last year linked to the deaths of three people, but the ice cream maker could end up paying only a fraction of the $850,000 penalty under an agreement announced Friday.

Federal officials have fined a south-central Idaho dairy for the death of a worker who drowned in a waste pond earlier this year.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a company after three workers died over three years in northeast Missouri.

The body of an Idaho dairy worker who went missing yesterday morning has been recovered from the farm's waste water lagoon.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspections of Wisconsin dairy farms will continue for fiscal year 2016.

The investigation into the death of a Mabton, Wash. dairy worker who drowned in a manure pit shows the man had drugs in his system.

Threats from radicalized animal rights and environmental groups might be of greater concern than international terrorists, says this FBI veterinarian. 

A jury has awarded $1.7 million in a wrongful death lawsuit by the family of one of two young people who died in 2010 after falling into a tank at a Barry County, Mich., dairy farm.

Pre-harvest precautions help minimize risk of silage gas

Wearing the proper attire on the dairy is important to farm safety.

Once entangled by a mixer, it's virtually impossible to escape.

Dairy workers are at heightened risk of developing respiratory ailments because of particles inhaled on the job, and a group of Colorado State University researchers is using a federal grant of nearly $1 million to help find ways to protect their heath.

The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a dairy in Nebraska for the death of an employee.