A Farm Safety Challenge for Farm Families

“National Farm Safety Awareness Week” is being celebrated from Sunday, Sept. 21st – Saturday, Sept. 27th.  Pennsylvania Farm Bureau encourages each of our farm families to take the “safe farm challenge” this week to raise safety awareness on every farm in the Commonwealth.

There is no doubt that we need to strengthen our industry’s safety record. The challenge is to concentrate on safety every day. Think ahead about every task to be performed to ensure it will be accomplished in an accident-free way.

Most farmers know of another farmer who has been injured or killed in a farm accident. You can help reverse the course of accidents on the farm. To do so, you or a family member may need to recognize and change some dangerous habits.

The easiest habits to change include not allowing riders on tractors, following the “one seat, one rider” rule. According to the National Safety Council, last year our industry had 715 deaths, and 80,000 disabling injuries. Most of the reported accidents were associated with the operation of tractors. What the statistics won’t relate is how these accidents have affected the families of the injured or killed.

Please take a few minutes at the start of each day this week to take a fresh look at each task you are about to begin. If you are tired or in a hurry, let that be your “Farm Safety Warning Bell”. Most accidents occur when the equipment operator is fatigued or there is pressure to quickly finish one task and move on to another where deadlines, darkness or weather are involved.

One week of safe farm operation across the state is a challenge, but can we make the focus of this week occur throughout the year, and next? Pennsylvania Farm Bureau hopes you will take the challenge….and repeat it month after month. As one of our extended family, we are proud of what you do for your living and for our country.  Most of all, we want to see you again.

Some safety links and tips to help you complete this challenge can be found here: