A new study shows 83 percent of Canadian farmers think safety is important, but only 15 percent have a formal safety plan in place for their farm.
The study was conducted by the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) with Farm Credit Canada.
CASA Executive Director Marcel Hacault was recently on Sounding Board and said the idea of the survey was to get an idea of the state of farm safety planning and to see if farmers were interested in upgrading their safety training.
Hacault says the area of training in the highest demand is learning general first aid, along with farm safety for children.
Hacault says knowledge of safety is improving among children living on farms and among the younger generations of farmers themselves.
But, he says concern for safety doesn’t appear to be a priority for farmers over the age of 60.
Hacault says many farmers are getting more interested in having safety training and procedures in place because it helps attract employees and makes an easier transition if the next generation of the family is taking over the farm.
The study shows most farmers try to handle equipment and livestock safely and teach family members how to do so on a regular basis.
However, it states that two-thirds of the respondents work when tired and only 32 percent take measures to manage stress, which can increase the chances of injury.
Hacault says continually following unsafe old work habits is also a barrier to better farm safety.