STAY SAFE ON THE FARM

Farming is among the more dangerous occupations for several reasons, including potential for encounters with electrical hazards.

Planting and harvest season can bring long hours, weather constraints, tight schedules, seasonal workers and increased stress. Because of that, Safe Electricity reminds farmers that it only takes a split second for someone to come into contact with electricity.

From your most seasoned worker to your least, your spouse, your kids or other family members, an ag-related provider dropping off a load or applying fertilizer — any person on your farm is at risk of becoming injured or killed due to electrical contact.

Before taking to the fields, farm workers should be aware of overhead power lines and to keep equipment and extensions far away from them.

“Review overhead power line locations and height clearance with anyone and everyone working on the farm or doing business there,” says Erin Hollinshead, executive director of Safe Electricity. “Although farm work is filled with tight deadlines and heightened work stress, making time for safety, including electrical safety, can save lives.”

Never assume that because someone grew up on the farm that they understand the potential of stray voltage or other electrical hazards. Share these electrical safety tips with farm families and workers to keep them safe from accidents year round:

  • Start each morning by planning your day’s work and have a safety meeting. Know what jobs will happen near power lines and discuss how to keep assigned workers safe. Emphasize safety above speed to everyone on the farm, especially during busy seasons.
  • Educate everyone that potential electrical hazards include both direct and indirect contact with an overhead power line or pole. Indirect contact (coming too close to a power line or pole) could cause electricity to arc/jump. Both direct and indirect contact can change electricity’s path to ground. Once that path changes, the stray voltage can energize anything in its path, such as a truck, a tractor, an extension, the ground or a person.
  • Keep yourself and equipment at least 10 feet away from power lines at all times. Use a spotter when moving tall equipment and loads.
  • Encourage drivers and operators to position grain augers in their lowest position or to lower truck bed boxes before moving. It can be difficult to estimate distance, and sometimes a power line is closer than it looks. Use a spotter to make certain you stay far away from power lines.
  • Always lower equipment extensions or elevators to their lowest possible level, under 14 feet, before moving or transporting. Wind, uneven ground, shifting weight or other conditions can cause you to lose control of equipment and make contact with power lines.
  • Be aware of increased height when loading and transporting larger, modern tractors with higher antennas.
  • Do not to raise equipment, such as ladders, poles, or rods into power lines. Remember, non-metallic materials such as lumber, tree limbs, tires, ropes and hay will conduct electricity, depending on dampness and dust and dirt contamination.
  • Don’t use metal poles when breaking up bridged grain inside and around bins.
  • Encourage folding and unfolding to be done well into the field, not at the field’s edge, which could have power lines running next to it.
  • Do not store irrigation pipes, hay bales, machinery or anything else under power lines.
  • Be aware of power line locations in the proximity of grain bins. Always load and unload on the side without a power line. Contact your electric cooperative or utility with questions about grain bin power line clearance/OSHA regulations.
  • Never attempt to raise or move a power line to clear a path. If power lines near your property have sagged over time, call your utility to repair them.
  • Use qualified electricians for work on drying equipment and other farm electrical systems.
  • If you are on equipment that contacts a power line, do not exit the equipment. When you step off the equipment, you become the electricity’s path to ground and receive a potentially fatal shock. Wait until utility workers have de-energized the line and confirmed it is safe for you to exit. If the vehicle is on fire and you must exit, jump clear of the vehicle with both feet together. Hop as far from the vehicle as you can with your feet together. Keep your feet together to prevent current flow through your body, which could be deadly.

 

Contact New-Mac about damaged or downed power lines or poles. Utility crews would much rather check out an issue than risk a potentially dangerous situation.

Electrical work around the farm can also pose hazards. Often, the need for an electrical repair comes when a farmer has been working long hours and is fatigued. At such times, it’s best to step back and wait until you’ve rested.