The Waterloo Farm and Home Safety Association will be hosting its annual farm safety rally on Mar. 8 at the St. Jacobs Community Centre. The theme for the past three years has been “plan, farm and safety.” This year the emphasis is on safety, as farmers should be assessing, improving and developing farm safety systems necessary to keep themselves and workers safe.
There will be a range of speakers at the rally, including an officer from the Waterloo Regional Police Elmira detachment with a presentation on road safety for tractors, farm implements and buggies.
“We must share the road with a variety of vehicles and learn to respect each other. There have been a lot of collisions on the roads over the last year, with vehicles running into farm machinery so we are emphasizing that farmers make sure they are using the proper signage or lights on their farm vehicles,” said Heidi Wagner of the Woolwich Community Health Centre, organizer of the rally. “We will also discuss horse-and-buggy safety, as they should have the proper lights and signs for not only their safety but for motorists as well.”
A member of the Community Awareness and Emergency Response (CAER), will have a demonstration on CPR as well as a review of first aid procedures for choking, bleeding and possible farm injuries, including what to do in case of an amputation, which ties into a presentation from Jayden East of the War Amps as he emphasizes the importance of taking care while working to avoid injuries.
“He will be discussing how life changes once you have an amputation of any kind. Life does go on but it is not going to be as easy to perform many of the farming tasks that they once did if they only have one arm or leg,” said Wagner. “It is difficult to accomplish tasks with one limb missing.”
There will be numerous instructional videos and displays as well as door prizes and refreshments for guests.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the event runs until 9 p.m.
“It is always good just to remind farmers that accidents can happen and there are ways to avoid them by being safe and not rushing, but if one does occur they should know what to do.”
There is no cost to attend the rally anyone interested in more information should contact Heidi Wagner at 519 664-3794, ext. 237.
