hometownsource. com / heartland / Stories of the Heartland • Sunday, September 20, 2026 Page 15
Fall harvest farm safety
BY BRENDA MILLER U OF M EXTENSION EDUCATION
Harvest season is upon us. Accidents can happen in the blink of an eye and can have devastating outcomes. Here are 10 things to keep in mind to be safe when operating equipment during this harvest season.
1. DO NOT expose children to hazards! Teach them farm safety at a young age. Children watch everything you do. If you put yourself in a potentially hazardous situation then they will think it is OK. Explain to a child the importance of WHY and HOW they should or should not act around machinery or other farm hazards. If you teach them right when they’ re young, it will stick with them for the rest of their lives.
2. Manure pit safety. The gases a manure pit gives off can be deadly within minutes. Safety precautions MUST be heeded if needing to work near a manure pit, manure holding tank, and manure handling equipment.
3. One seat, one rider. If a piece of equipment only has one seat, the driver’ s seat, then the driver should be the only one on that piece of machinery. The only exception to this rule is if a tractor or combine has a“ buddy” seat that is meant for a temporary additional rider.
4. Always tell someone where you are working. If you are going to go disk“ the back 40” then let someone know where you will be, should something happen or just to check in to make sure you’ re OK. If you move to a different field, update them on your status.
5. Don’ t take“ shortcuts”. They WILL come back to haunt you. Jumping across a moving PTO or trying to unclog the chopper or baler while its running are probably not the best ideas if you’ d like to keep your limbs. Take the extra few seconds to shut off moving parts or engines.
6. Be aware of your surroundings. Know where children or workers are before moving machinery. Know where field approaches, tile inlets, trees, barns, sheds, vehicles, drainage ditches, and buffer strips are located and make sure your help knows too. Replacing machinery parts or fixing tile inlets are never a cheap or fun task.
7. Eat. Drink. Sleep. Fatigue can sneak up on a person quickly. Take a 20-minute nap and stay hydrated. Keep a few healthy snacks( beef jerky, apples, granola bars, etc) on hand for an energy boost. Get out of the tractor occasionally for some fresh air and to stretch out.
8. Don’ t wear loose clothing or strings. Take off the baggy sweatshirt or remove hood strings before working near PTOs. Cut the fringes off pants and repair holey jeans.
9. Use machinery lights and flashers. If your machinery has poor or no lights, only move it on roads during daylight hours and have someone follow behind in a vehicle with their flashers on.
10. Wear a dust mask and do not enter a grain bin without a safety harness. Grain is not safe to walk across. If one absolutely has to enter a grain bin, wear a safety harness and have another person outside the bin to be the spotter. Grain gets dusty so wear respiratory protection too.
Farmers, stay safe out there in the fields and on the roads. Happy Harvest!
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