Date of News Release: Thursday, July 7, 2005

The New York State Department of Labor Hazard Abatement Board has awarded the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine & Health (NYCAMH) grant funding for on-farm safety surveys and on-farm safety training sessions. The farm safety surveys and on-farm safety training sessions are available to any type of production agriculture business such as orchards, greenhouses, vegetable, dairy and livestock farms. Bilingual safety training sessions and training materials are also available for migrant and seasonal workers. These services are offered at no cost to the farm owner.

The aim of the on-farm safety surveys is to identify any mechanical, environmental and personal hazards that the farm owner or manager may not have been aware of. The on-farm safety survey will address questions about using and maintaining farm equipment and buildings, and protecting farmers, farm families and farm workers. All information will be kept strictly confidential and is for the farm’s benefit only. Each participating farm will receive suggestions on how to eliminate possible hazards and will be offered two, on-farm safety-training sessions. These trainings will be farm specific, based on findings from the survey, and can include topics such as tractors and machinery, farmstead/building and personal protective equipment safety. Each farm that completes the on-farm safety survey will receive a certificate of completion to document completing the safety survey and a Slow-Moving-Vehicle (SMV) emblem

Farm owners are encouraged to contact NYCAMH staff to schedule on-farm safety surveys and on-farm safety trainings or to receive bi-lingual posters/flyers for employer self-training of employees. Here is a list of just a few of the safety training topics that can be conducted:

· Worker Protection Standard

· Personal hygiene

· Tractor, skid steer or forklift training

· Use of personal protective equipment

· Ladder safety

· Safe lifting & carrying

· Heat & sun safety

· Hand tool safety

There are many more potential safety topics that can be offered to meet the specific needs of each farm. For the farm’s safety records, a copy of the training attendance roster is provided upon completion of each training session. Also, each trainee will receive a certificate of completion for the safety training session. Employers of migrant workers are also offered one-day tractor/implement operation training for their employees. Day long training sessions can also be conducted for skid steer or forklift operation.

The New York Department of Labor grant funding also allows NYCAMH to offer farm safety educational programs to high school, college agricultural classes, tractor operator safety classes, and 4-H groups. These programs are geared toward youth working on New York farms and include topics such as equipment, farmstead/building and personal protective equipment safety.

If you would like more information or wish to schedule an on-farm safety survey or on-farm safety training session, contact Jim Carrabba, Farm Safety Education Specialist at NYCAMH. His number is (800) 343-7527; ext 239 or his e-mail is jcarrabba@nycamh.com. Farms in Western New York can contact Becky Ireland-Perry at (585) 493-2451 or e-mail perryja@frontiernet.net. Farms in Southern New York can contact Dave Tetor at (845) 868-7796. Each farm that completes an on-farm survey will receive a Slow-Moving-Vehicle (SMV) emblem. NYCAMH, a program of Bassett Healthcare, is enhancing agricultural and rural health by preventing and treating occupational injury and illness.