AFAN joins education effort for National Farm Safety and Health Week
Farm Safety WeekAbout 23 out of every 100,000 farmers die of workplace injuries in a year, and new Department of Labor data lists the agricultural sector as the most dangerous in America, costing about 570 lives a year. To top it off, harvest season in the Corn Belt is the peak time for accidents involving farm children.
Those are a couple of the reasons that the Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska (AFAN) is assisting with safety education as part of National Farm Safety and Health Week, Sept. 17-23.
“Farming and ranching is one of the most dangerous professions out there, and I would venture to say that everyone in agriculture has experienced or witnessed the devastation that farm accidents can bring to families and communities,” said AFAN Executive Director Kristen Hassebrook. “This is the 73rd year that National Farm Safety and Health Week has been designated to the third week of September, as farmers enter the harvest season.”
The theme for the 2017 Farm Safety & Health week is “Putting Farm Safety into Practice.”
“This is a great reminder that we must follow all best practices to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe,” Hassebrook said. “The National Education Center for Agriculture Safety (NECAS) offers safety information on topics including tractor safety; farmer health; child/youth health & safety; confined spaces in agriculture; and rural roadway safety.”
Watch for AFAN to focus one day on each of these five categories on its social-media platforms this week. Get more in-depth information from NECAS at http://www.necasag.org/nationalfarmsafetyandhealthweek/.
