Can your barn job be Deadly?

Sometimes it is not the horse, but the horsepower that is a real danger on the farm or around the barn.

In 2010 alone, There were 22 work related deaths on Alberta farms in that year. Of the 22 fatalities, 19 were males, 12 were 60 or over, and 3 were children. Four incidents were electrocutions, and another four involved either baling or moving bales. This number doesn't even come close to the number of work related injuries. Do we take too much for granted?

How much training is given regarding the safe operation of farm machinery, tractors, gators and balers?

How often do we hear..."you ever ridden one of those before?" (Points to tractor) Good enough.

When farming please follow these precautions issued by the government of Alberta http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$Department/deptdocs.nsf/all/aet13527 in order to keep yourself, your family and your workers safe. Please don't end up on a list like this one:

Thanks to the Government of Alberta – Agriculture & Rural Development for this information.

	Date	Age	Sex	Cause	Comments
1	March 3	37	Male	Auger	Victim was removing grain auger from bin, auger came into contact with a power line and victim was electrocuted.
2	March 4	48	Male	Unknown complications	Victim was injured in a farming incident in 1988.
3	March 4	78	Male	Crushed, asphyxia	Victim was removing large round bales off stack. As he removed one bale, the next bale fell onto him.
4	April 7	2	Female	Drowned	Victim was found several feet from shore in a steeply banked dugout.
5	April 13	75	Female	Runover, severe chest and abdominal trauma	Victim was leaving a quonset when she was runover by a semi-trailer.
6	May 20	12	Female	Fall, multiple blunt trauma	Victim was trick riding on a horse when she fell and was dragged around the corral several times.
7	May 26	30	Male	Electrocution	Sprayer boom was lifted and came in contact with overhead wires. Victim was electrocuted as he exited equipment.
8	May 30	62	Male	Crushed, multiple blunt force injuries	Victim was lifting a large steel pipe with a manual hoist when it fell, hitting his head.
9	July 3	63	Male	Crushed, blunt injury to chest	Pinned between cab and bucket of mechanically unsafe bobcat.
10	July 22	22	Male	Lightning strike	Victim was fencing prior to a storm. Victim was leaving area when he was struck by lightning.
11	July 26	64	Male	Motor vehicle collision	Victim was driving a tractor with attached haybine on the highway when he was hit from behind by a semi-trailer.
12	August 9	73	Male	Entanglement, multiple trauma	Victim was baling and became entangled in the baler.
13	August 12	12	Male	Crushed	Victim was found pinned under the shop door.
14	August 25	67	Male	Runover	Victim found in a field by witnesses who observed a tractor moving without a driver. It appears the victim had dismounted the tractor and been run over and dragged by the baler after failing to put the tractor in neutral.
15	October 8	76	Male	Asphyxiation	Tractor that victim was operating caught on fire.
16	October 14	56	Male	Blunt cranial trauma	Victim had been baling, died later of a closed head injury, circumstances unknown.
17	October 17	74	Male	Chest trauma	Hit in chest by gas cap which coworker was cutting off a gas tank with a torch.
18	November 6	23	Male	Blunt force trauma to chest	Victim was working on hydraulic system of a skid-steer digger when the hydraulics failed and the victim was pinned between digger arm and body of the machine.
19	November 18	61	Male	Unknown	Victim was found near steel gate after herding buffalo. Possible head injury.
20	December 3	62	Male	Electrocution	Was moving a grain auger with the help of another male when it collided with the overhead power lines.
21	December 3	54	Male	Electrocution	Was moving a grain auger with the help of another male when it collided with the overhead power lines.
22	December 24	69	Male	Crushed	Victim was chased by a bull and pinned against a gate.