Increasingly, we are working toward making the business case that employee safety and health on farms not only is the right thing to do—It also makes great business sense. Here are a few ideas to consider:
- Prioritizing investments in safety and health can be overwhelming on a farm. Consider consulting with your primary farm insurer who can help you find experts to assess risk in different areas of your operation and recommend investment priorities that will have the highest ROI.
- Develop a safety and health policy that you can share with all workers and family members. A written document will allow you to communicate expectations and can be a key tool to articulate a safety culture within your farming operation.
- To reduce risk, you must make physical, measurable, “concrete” changes to eliminate or physically protect against hazards in the workplace.
- Training for all workers is critical. Safety training should be done frequently (monthly or weekly) and is best when integrated into training efforts connected to production “best practices.”
- Good training on any topic should involve hands on demonstrations including having workers demonstrate back to you that they understand clearly and can perform needed tasks safely.
This information is adapted from an article: “The Business Case for Safety on the Farm” by Written by
Recommended Employee Management and Safety Information
- Sample Employee Safety and Health Policy Document
- Effective Farm Safety Training Starts with a Purpose
- The Business Case for Safety on the Farm
- Building a Positive Farm Business Culture: Perceptions of Health and Safety among Latin/Hispanic Dairy Workers
- Safety and Health Management Planning for General Farm and Ranch Operations
