Safety Should Always Come First

Safety Should Always Come First

Rick Worthington
Rick Worthington
Safety Should Always Come First

When school is out, many teenagers start looking for work, and some of those teens will undoubtedly be put to work on the farm.

Those kids are strong and full of energy, but often times, and especially when they are unsupervised, they can put themselves in harms way.

Melissa Ploeckelman of the National Farm Medicine Center has a few safety tips for farmers and their young employees for this time of year.

Always turn off farm machinery if you are leaving it.

Leave safety equipment in place, eg. ...

Take keys out and put them out of reach of young children.

Lock away all chemicals.

Keep guns locked away and ammunition should be kept in a different place.

Leave ladders locked up or lying flat on the ground.

Keep protective glasses, earmuffs, helmets and gloves in easy to reach places.

Always wear seat belts in cars, utes or trucks.

Always wear a helmet when riding quad bikes or horses.

Cover up and use sunscreen and hats in the sun.

Tell mum or dad if you notice something that could be dangerous, eg. worn electrical leads, worn tyres, broken machinery or tools.

Make sure no kids ride on tractors, as tractor roll-overs are one of the most common preventable causes of farm kids and adults being killed.

Put away portable machinery, eg. lawn mowers, out of the reach of children.

Always wear boots or strong shoes outside of the house.

And it's always good to remember - statistically, farming is still one of the most dangerous jobs in the country, especially for those working with farm equipment.

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