Regular safety meetings play an important role in communicating your company’s safety program information. They are a vital means of providing training for your employees about their workplace hazards and expected safe work habits. Safety meetings are also a great way to provide a quick refresher of previous training and reinforce the safety culture of your operation.

Thank you. It’s not hard to say, but until this time of year, many of us rarely slow down enough to think about what we’re truly thankful for in our lives. Here at Good Days Work, we have so much to be thankful for—our families, our health, the opportunities ahead—the list could go on and on. But, first and foremost, we are thankful for you, the farm families that serve our communities.

Moving materials from one location to another is critical to any agribusiness operation.  The vehicles needed to move product vary almost as much as the drivers on which we rely.  Follow these simple guidelines to improve the safety of your truck operation.

Even though we may be done with harvest, there is still the rush to get fall tillage done, equipment stored, facilities secured for winter and other outdoor activities wrapped up before the snow flies.  We know that the sooner these things are done, the more comfortable we will be when the weather gets unpleasant.

Falls account for most injuries in ag operations.  One of the more dangerous fall hazards faced by farmers and agricultural workers is climbing grain bins.  There are many reasons to climb grain bins; opening or closing manhole covers, moving spouts, replacing belts, checking spreader operation, checking the stirrator, checking grain level, checking grain moisture, monitoring grain quality, just to name a few.

Electrocutions are far too common in agricultural operations, and the push to complete harvest can sometimes cause us to do incomplete repairs or delay repairs that are needed to ensure safety.  Here are a few considerations to protect ourselves and our employees:

Whether cutting firewood, downing trees for lumber, clearing brush or removing storm-damaged trees and branches, chainsaws are designed to make the job faster and easier. They're one of the most powerful hand tools at your disposal  . . .

The EPA has revised the agricultural Worker Protection Standard and expanded the regulation to provide new worker protections similar to other industries.

 Among other new protections, it now includes annual mandatory training to inform farmworkers on the protections afforded to them through the standard. Formerly, this training was required only once every 5 years.

Fall-applied anhydrous ammonia can be an economical and efficient way to get nitrogen for your corn crop and get a jump on next year’s growing season. Anhydrous ammonia has several advantages, including its relatively easy application and ready availability. However, there are also disadvantages and potential dangers involved in handling anhydrous ammonia.

Generally speaking, agriculture doesn’t place enough emphasis on personal protective equipment (PPE).  Failure to use PPE can have devastating consequences in both the short-term and long-term.

We’ve all been there. 

• Not wearing gloves when you know flowing material has sharpened the edges of the equipment you are working on to a razor edge.
• Not wearing goggles when you know the chemical you are using could harm your eyes.
• Purchasing boots without steel toes out of concern for comfort when you know the steel toe version would better protect your feet.
• Not using ear muffs when we are running the chainsaw even though you know your ears will ring for days afterwards.