It is a common misconception that there is no work to be done on a farm between the fall harvest and spring planting seasons. From taking care of livestock animals to maintaining different buildings to preparing for the spring thaw, plenty of farm work is still available to keep busy. That’s why it’s essential to be vigilant about the risks associated with winter around the farm and ensure proper winter farm safety.
As any farmer or insurance broker in Ontario will tell you, farms can be hazardous places, and winter brings with it numerous challenges that can make your working environment that much more treacherous. While some hazards are obvious, such as getting caught in a blizzard, others, such as cold stress, may not be so apparent, so it is important to practice good winter farm safety. From dressing appropriately for the weather to ensuring everyone is aware of the dangers, our Morison Insurance brokers share their top winter farm safety tips below.
While winter may not be the bustling hive of activity for a farm that the warmer months may provide, there is still lots to do in the winter, and the shorter days and colder temperatures make farm work much more dangerous. No matter what time of year it is, a farm can be risky unless you take the proper precautions for winter farm safety.
Accidents sometimes happen—that’s why we provide farm insurance, car insurance, home insurance and much more so you can be protected. But you can help prevent them by following these winter farm safety tips. While some winter farm safety tips may seem pretty straightforward and common sense, they still bear repeating, as you can never be too careful about winter farm safety.
With the harvest season done and planting still months away, now is the time to perform any needed equipment maintenance to ensure your farming equipment stays in tip-top shape. Even if you don’t plan on using that piece of machinery for a few months, preventative maintenance will ensure both summer and winter farm safety. Not only will this help you address any minor repairs before they become more significant issues, but preventative maintenance can also help you avoid more costly repairs or premature replacements come spring.
In addition to your equipment maintenance, ensure your property is prepared for winter. Clean any frequently-used areas before the snowfall, and ensure that any pathways and entrances are clear throughout winter. Ensure you have enough supplies, such as feed, fuel, grit, sand and other products or materials, so you don’t run out during a snowstorm. Remember, it’s better to be over-prepared than under-prepared regarding winter farm safety.
As winter approaches, make sure your team understands what farm chores need to be done, any changes in procedures, any winter farm safety risks associated with the work and how you can mitigate them and get everything done safely. Keep in mind considerations like whether there is enough gas for the equipment and if the tanks are full, keeping any pathways or work area free of ice, snow and debris, what to do in case of power failures, and how to determine if it’s safe to operate the heavy equipment in certain weather conditions. While this winter farm safety tip may seem pretty straightforward, it is always good to ensure that you and your team are on the same page regarding winter farm safety.
Now is also the time to update your Farm Safety Risk Assessment. Make adjustments if there have been any changes in your farming operations in the past year, and ensure that everyone knows who to contact in case of an emergency or worst-case scenario. Your Morison Insurance broker can help you come up with a clear plan and provide expert advice on what to include in your risk assessment to ensure proper winter farm safety.
It’s not just people you’ve got to worry about this winter; your farm may have any number of livestock you need to care for as temperatures drop. Whether you have a few chickens or a herd of cattle, winter farm safety also applies to farm animals.
Ensure your animals have adequate shelter to escape the cold. The shelter must have proper ventilation and access to food and water. As Ontario winters can be unpredictable, ensure the indoor space is comfortable for your livestock to spend extended periods and has room for you and your employees to clean it out and take care of your livestock.
Another part of this winter farm safety tip is to ensure you have a plan in place in case of severe weather conditions. Even in the bleakest winter conditions, you will need to be able to get food and water to your livestock and be able to provide animal care, so plan on how to care for them in case of weather events such as a blizzard, heavy snowfall, or flooding.
Before winter sets in, an essential winter farm safety tip is to get all your electrical work checked out to ensure there aren’t any issues for the coming winter. This includes checking out outlets, ensuring your walkways and work area are adequately lit, having any repairs done by a licensed electrician, and providing any backup power supply in case of any power outages. The same goes for any heating source, as adequately working heating and electrical systems are a crucial part of winter farm safety. Not only will they help you see what you are doing in diminishing daylight hours, but they will also help keep you, your workers, and your livestock comfortable throughout the bitter cold.
As cliché, as it may sound, a crucial part of winter farm safety, is dressing appropriately for the weather. While you may not want to dress in warm layers of clothing during labour-intensive farm work, ensuring you are dressed appropriately will help keep you safe during this winter on the farm. This includes wearing multiple warm layers, including gloves, hats, and insulated and waterproof boots, to keep the chill at bay, but also not wearing loose clothing and wearing PPE for winter farm safety. Ensure you bring an extra set of clothes with you when driving, in case you get stuck somewhere as well.
Much like with heat stress, you and your workers are at risk of cold stress during the cold winter months. Cold stress is when your body can no longer maintain its optimal body temperature, resulting in severe illness or permanent tissue damage, such as trench foot, frostbite, and hypothermia. As you and your workers may be working in low temperatures for extended periods, knowing the signs of cold stress and how to prevent it is a good winter farm safety tip.
Some symptoms of cold stress are shivering, confusion, slurred speech, slower heart rates or breathing, and loss of consciousness. Ensure your employees and anyone working around the farm know the symptoms to watch out for so they can monitor themselves and their co-workers for it. If you or a worker are experiencing symptoms of cold stress, get out of the cold immediately and seek medical attention.
The best thing you can do to ensure winter farm safety and prevent cold stress is to wear appropriate clothing, take frequent breaks, properly hydrate, eat nutritiously, and prioritize tasks based on weather conditions.
While we discussed above the importance of maintaining yourself for winter farm safety, you need to take steps to ensure winter farm safety when using it this winter as well. This involves ensuring all mirrors, lights, and indicators are working correctly, keeping them indoors when possible, ensuring hand breaks are working, anti-freeze is topped up, you have enough gas in the tank, and ensuring you and your employees are driving carefully in less than ideal conditions. Pay attention to machinery performance as well, as issues can pop up from the cold temperatures.
Additionally, especially in frequently used machines or motor vehicles, prepare winter farm safety vehicle kits to keep in the cab, just in case you or an employee gets stuck somewhere for extended periods of time. This can include items such as:
Ultimately, these kits should contain supplies to help you stay safe and comfortable should you get stranded somewhere. Remember, even if you know where you are, if you get stuck somewhere during a storm or other less-than-ideal weather, stay in the vehicle unless you can quickly see and reach another building. It can be straightforward to get disoriented during a snowstorm, and you could end up going in a different direction entirely and away from safety. Staying with your vehicle helps ensure you have shelter and rescuers can reach you. Additionally, by having these vehicle kits with you, you will have access to supplies that can help keep you warm and safe.
Even during winter, farm safety can’t forget about mitigating fire risks around the farm. In winter, this can look like storing vehicles and equipment safely away from any combustible materials, ensuring straw and hay aren’t making contact with any electrical components to prevent ignitions, and moving flammable materials away from livestock buildings and houses. Additionally, consider adding a ‘kill switch’ to any machines to quickly shut them down and prevent fires for winter farm safety, as well as for year-round protection.
By taking into account fire prevention as part of winter farm safety, you can help prevent potential fire risks throughout the year.
Whether it’s summer or winter, farm safety is not a good topic to educate people on. From farmworkers who are working on-site every day to the grandkids visiting for the day, ensure everyone who steps foot onto your farm is knowledgeable about winter farm safety.
We don’t need to tell you that farms can be very dangerous places, so it’s important that everyone practices winter farm safety. Educating people is a great way to ensure winter farm safety, whether that’s by ensuring young children understand the machines aren’t toys or keeping farm employees in the know about winter farm safety procedures.
We get it; with the limited daylight hours and the blistering cold, you could feel like you need to rush through the farm work if only to get back into the cozy indoors. However, rushing around a farm is never a good idea, never mind proper winter farm safety. Take the time to do the job properly—especially around heavy machinery and equipment such as tractors—and safely will ensure that not only will you not have to re-do the job tomorrow, but ensures that everyone practices proper winter farm safety and goes home at the end of the day.
If you have any questions about ensuring proper winter farm safety for your farm—or want expert advice on the best tips, give us a call and speak to your broker at Morison Insurance. Not only can our insurance experts help you craft a winter farm safety plan, but we can also help you identify potential risks and help create a safer farming operation year-round!
Whether you have a hobby farm or ranch or run a giant agricultural operation, it is never too late to implement the above winter farm safety tips. Contact us today to see how you can improve your winter farm safety today!
This content is written by our Morison Insurance team. All information posted is merely for educational and informational purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Should you decide to act upon any information in this article, you do so at your own risk. While the information on this website has been verified to the best of our abilities, we cannot guarantee that there are no mistakes or errors.
