Sept. 16-22 is National Farm Safety and Health Week

            “Keep Kids Away from Tractors: It’s Easier to Bury a Tradition than a Child” is the theme of the 64th observance of National Farm Safety and Health Week Sept. 16-22.

            The observance is sponsored by the National Safety Council and supported by farm and ranch safety advocates, including Wyoming AgrAbility.

            Children being carried along as extra riders on farm, ranch or lawn care equipment continues to be a concern among safety professionals.

             “It is difficult to pay full attention to operating equipment when you have a child in your lap or riding on the fender,” said Randy Weigel, Wyoming AgrAbility project director. More than 100 children are killed on U.S. farms or ranches each year. Many of these deaths are from accidentally falling off the tractor or equipment and being run over by the tractor or trailing equipment.

            When there is only one seat, the rule of thumb is for the operator and no one else to occupy the seat. For safety sake, never allow extra riders, said Weigel.

Small tractors are just as dangerous!

            Overturning tractors is a concern not only on the farm or ranch but also on the homestead lawn. Small-sized lawn and garden tractors are often causes for tragedies, and it is often the way the equipment is being operated, said Weigel.

            Some reasons include:

·         Lawn and garden tractors being operated by younger operators. Children and youths are risk takers and they tend to overestimate their capabilities.

·         Tractors without rollover protection, whether operating on the ranch, farm, or on a manicured lawn, can be dangerous. Slopes are often the culprit, but drop offs near a stream or retaining wall can have disastrous results.

·         Fueling a tractor can be dangerous. A hot engine or gasoline spill can result in serious or fatal burns. Don’t fuel any tractor in an enclosed garage or building.

·         Once a thorough check of litter and debris of the area to be mowed has been done, all bystanders, children and pets should be kept away until the small tractor and its mower has completed its work.

      “It’s wise to resist the urge to use your small tractor when the slopes are too steep or too wet, and it’s important to keep extra riders off,” Weigel said. “Those operators who don’t are asking for trouble; trouble that could result in a serious injury to themselves or their children.”

      For more information on agricultural safety on the ranch or farm or information on how Wyoming AgrAbility may be able to help, call toll-free (866) 395-4986 or e-mail agrability@uwyo.edu or visit us on the Web at www.uwyo.edu/agrability.