They will be chatting up a storm at this year's Canadian Agricultural Safety Week. In fact, this year's theme is titled, “Let's Talk About It!”
“We feel that communication is really important in life generally and in the farm workplace, communication is really important as well because you have to start somewhere,” said Michelle French Lancaster, spokesperson for The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA).
“People might have conversations about close calls or something like that around the dinner table, share stories and that kind of stuff. We want people to talk about farm safety as part of their regular, everyday work on the farm.”
This year, Olds will be hosting the Canadian Agricultural Safety Week (CASW) launch at the Pomeroy Inn & Suites on March 11.
The free event includes a luncheon with speeches from experts, farmers and a training workshop on safety for seasonal and migrant workers. The deadline to register is March 7.
Bruce Beattie, Mountain View County reeve, said that having a week dedicated to the issue raises knowledge of farm safety but adds that people should always be vigilant.
“We need to talk about it year-round, not just during one week. It's something that has to be kept in (mind) all the time,” Beattie said. “Maybe we don't keep it top of mind. It's easy to forget.”
Canadian Agricultural Safety Week is a national campaign aimed at raising awareness of safe agriculture and its importance. The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) and Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) organize the event.
Those two groups are partnered with Ag for Life and Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD).
One of the speakers will be Humphrey Banack, a board member of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture. He is also the vice-president of the CFA.
With his wife Terry, Banack will discuss some practices they put into place at their farm.
Another speaker will be Ray Murphy, who runs Murphy Livestock in Bonnyville.
At age 59, he was injured while tagging a bull, putting him in a wheelchair. He has since recovered to the point where he can stand, feed himself and walk a little.
Lancaster said it's important for attendees to hear about safety from people who've worked in the field who can share their experiences.
“When you hear it from someone from your own backyard, that lives and breathes agriculture every day, it's so much of a stronger statement and it's so much more meaningful,” Lancaster said.
To register for Canadian Agricultural Safety Week events, visit www.agsafetyweek.ca.
