Farm Safety

Visiting a farm or petting zoo can be a great experience for your family. It lets kids interact with animals, and they can see how many foods are grown and processed.

But before you load up the family for a rural adventure, it's important to learn a bit about farm safety. Animals, heavy machinery, and pesticides are just a few of the hazards for kids on farms. And if you live on a farm, it's important to protect kids from everyday dangers by taking safety precautions.

Why Farm Safety Is Important

The age groups at greatest risk for injury on farms are kids around ages 3 to 4 years old and teens 13 to 14 years old. Fortunately, most injuries can be prevented by taking precautions and educating kids about the potential dangers.

Dangers on the Farm

If you're visiting a farm or live on one, being aware of potential hazards will help kids steer clear of potential accidents.

Machinery

The heavy machinery that enables a farm to be productive and prosperous can also pose a serious risk to kids's safety. The most common machinery injuries include being crushed or losing limbs in equipment like combines, threshers, hay processors, and riding mowers. Tractors are the most frequent and most deadly cause of machinery injuries.

Types of injuries that can be caused by farm machinery include:

• Pinching injuries: When two pieces of machinery move together with at least one piece moving in a circle, clothing or fingers, hands, or other body parts could be caught near a rotating part and severed.
• Wrapping injuries: If there's a rotating shaft, clothing or hair could be wrapped around the shaft, trapping a child and pulling him or her toward the machinery.
• Cutting or shearing injuries: Machinery that contains blades or hard edges, such as those found on harvesting equipment, can cut material or skin or even sever limbs.
• Thrown-object injuries: Machinery such as mowers can throw out stones or other debris while in operation and cause injuries.
• Crushing injuries: Garage doors, tractors, or raised equipment may fall, roll, or be lowered, causing serious injury or death to someone trapped beneath.

Follow these basic rules around machinery to help keep kids safe:

• During a visit to a farm, never allow your child to wander from the tour group or away from you. Don't allow kids to play in areas where machinery is in use or being stored.
• Kids, whether they are visitors or residents, should not play with or ride on equipment, even with adult supervision.
• If there's one seat on the equipment, there should only be one rider — an adult. You should never allow extra riders.
• Do not allow riders in the back of pickup trucks.
• All equipment should be parked and locked with keys removed when not in use.
• Before starting machinery, all operators should know where kids are located to avoid accidents — small children could be easily hidden by large wheels or blind spots. Because adults who are operating machinery may be unable to see or hear kids, kids should never be allowed to play near machinery.
• Keep hand tools, especially those with sharp or hot parts, out of reach.
• Keep equipment in good repair and safety features up to date. For example, tractors should have lights, seat belts, and roll-over protection structures (ROPs). When it comes to machinery maintenance, a shield and guard to cover spinning parts or blades should be kept in place. Read and follow the directions in equipment instruction manuals and conduct routine inspections of equipment so you'll be aware of potential safety hazards that may cause an accident.
• Vehicles such as motorized dirt bikes, mopeds, and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are often used as transportation on farms. They can cause death and serious injuries (often head and spinal injuries), mostly among teens who use them recklessly and don't wear helmets. Children under the age of 16 should not operate 2-, 3-, and 4-wheeled vehicles.
• Finally, teach older kids how to turn off machinery — they might save someone's life in an emergency. If your child is cared for by a family member or other caregiver, make sure that person knows how to turn off machinery in case your child is in danger.

Animals

Visiting the animals on a farm is a great opportunity to teach kids to be respectful of farm life. Teach your child not to run, scream, speak loudly, or otherwise startle an animal. Because a mother protecting her young can become defensive, kids shouldn't go near baby animals.