Harvest season is an integral time to the livelihood of farms and brings an enormous amount of strain and resilience. In some areas of Britain, the winter barley harvest has already started weeks ahead of schedule for the first time in almost half a century, due to temperatures reaching abnormal highs of 30 degrees Celsius. This soar in temperatures means there could be a detrimental effect on the quality of this year’s yield leading to an average crop at best due to a much smaller grain!
No matter what crop you grow – corn, wheat, silage, beans, peas etc, there is a huge amount of work to be done and no doubt that work will also be carried out by temporary staff who are not used to your machinery or farm. Risks for injury are increased and safety becomes a vital part to ensure. In addition, the harvest season tends to see an increase in agricultural robberies, targeting machinery and parts.
In order to reduce risks on your farm this year we have devised our top five recommendations for safety during harvest on the farm:
1 – Supply training for anyone who will use the equipment:
For temporary workers enrol them on a safety around the farm course to reduce risks and make staff more aware of the dangers around the farm.
StowAg offer a Lantra Health & Safety on Farms course for only £29.95! Enrol your team members to ensure maximum efforts and precautions have been taken to reduce risks during harvest. CLICK HERE
2 – Inspect your equipment:
Harvest is a busy time of year and you may be tempted to take shortcuts, however, taking a bit more time to inspect your machinery and equipment could be the difference in saving time from mistakes and prevent unnecessary accidents.
3 – Turn off the engine completely when:
- Refuelling
- Making repairs or adjustments to the equipment
- Hitching up, unhitching equipment... e.g connecting PTO shafts, air pipes etc.
- When left unattended