Unfortunately, almost everyone in the agricultural community knows someone who has been seriously injured or who has perished from an on-farm related incident. While fatalities in farming activities have declined over the last few years, the ultimate goal is to eliminate farm-related accidents altogether. That’s the vision of Ohio Farm Bureau’s Cultivating Safe Farm Operations eLearning Safety Series. This series is a new, interactive, engaging online education program developed for a broad audience of farmers, workers, and on-farm youth to make real changes in their farm safety habits.
Developed in partnership with Nationwide and Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Science’s Ag Safety and Health Program, the online safety series offers three 40-minute modules for learners and covers several basic agricultural risks. Each module integrates an assessment into the online platform to assure basic comprehension, which will help cultivate on-farm behavior modification.
The three farm safety modals include: Ag Safety 101, Tractor and Roadway Safety, and Equipment and Machinery Safety.
- Ag Safety 101 will cover the groundwork to begin building a culture of safety on the farm operation and reduce the number of incidents in the industry.
- Tractor and Roadway Safety participants will learn the safety fundamentals of tractors, PTO’s, and ag roadway use. Also, this course will review hazards and strategies for the farm operation and day-to-day activities to reduce incident risk.
- Equipment and Machinery Safety will deconstruct the risks associated in farm equipment to prepare everyone on the farm for safety.
To access the modules, prospective learners must create an account through the Farm Bureau University platform, which is provided in partnership with American Farm Bureau Federation and includes additional self-directed learning opportunities. In addition, successful completion of the modules satisfies the annual Workers’ Compensation Group Rating Program safety training requirement for Ohio Farm Bureau members who are participants.
Visit their website for full details and to access this free training program.
