Safety Tips

Livestock

• Respect all animals; they can hurt you without intending to do so.
• Never try to separate animals that are fighting.
• Animals respond well to routine. Be calm and deliberate.
• Always leave an escape route when working in close quarters. A people gate is essential.
• Take extra care around breeding males and mother animals with young.
• Always make your presence known to animal before touching it.

Machinery

• Read the owners manuals of your equipment.
• Wear your seatbelt.
• Keep safety shields in place at all times.
• Make sure exhaust systems are in good condition and leak free.
• Always have clear rear vision when traveling on roadways.
• Hitch towed loads to the drawbar and never higher.
• Keep a first-aid kit and fire extinguisher on the tractor.
• Never make repairs or adjustments to a working machine.
• Always check for bystanders, especially children, before starting or moving equipment parts.
• Always disengage equipment, shut the tractor off, and lock brakes before dismounting.

Children

• Children should not ride as passengers on any type of agricutlural equipment. The rule is one seat, one rider.
• Some areas definitely should be off limits to kids — grain bins, silos, manure lagoons, pesticide storage areas and even roadways where there is frequent equipment travel.
• Never allow children to play in or ride on grain trucks, wagons or bins. Children can suffocate in grain, and it takes only 34 seconds for a child to be completely submerged in flowing grain.
• Keep all chemicals and poisons in a locked storage area away from where children play.
• Keep small children away from livestock, and make sure older children know how to act around livestock.