Many years ago when my brother and I were in high school we lived in a very small town with a population of 100 people—when everybody was home. At the time that little town was home to three dairy farms and a farm machinery dealership. None of them, of course, are in business today. At that time "nutrient management" was when mom planned a healthy supper for us and "non-point source pollution" was called a barnyard. Much has changed since then—but some things have stayed pretty much the same.

Most of the equipment used to handle the manure on small to medium farms hasn't changed much over the past two or three decades, at least in principle. Barn cleaners, manure spreaders and the process haven't changed a lot. You haul the manure out to the field and apply mechanical power to sling it onto the ground. And then there is the clean up so the spreader doesn't freeze up for next time.

Brings me back to those high school days. My brother used to run a trap line on the Cherry Valley Creek. One morning he came home from checking his traps in an unusual state of excitement. Seems that as he was trudging through what I probably thought was waist-deep snow on a sub-zero morning before breakfast (the reason it was his trap line and not mine), when he heard the faint sound of cries for help. Looking toward the direction of the sound he saw a tractor and manure spreader setting idle in a desolate field. Next to the side of the spreader he thought he could see the hunched-over form of a person. Suddenly the trap line and the cold were the least of his concerns.

As he hurried across the field he recognized the neighbor's tractor and spreader and the neighbor boy seemingly entangled in something. I don't remember the details but I do know this situation was very unusual—it had a happy ending. The entanglement was not serious and there was help available in a desolate field on a sub-zero morning before sunrise.

Most farm machine entanglements are very tragic. I can name several people as I expect you can too, who have the scars—or death certificates of family members—to prove it. Take this as a reminder to use caution and follow a few safe practices this fall and winter when cleaning the barn and taking out the manure.

• Keep your machinery in good repair. Jump-starting or towing a tractor on slippery ground on a cold, dark morning, or trying to fix an apron chain with the spreader half full and freezing, is inviting trouble.

• Check to be sure the PTO shield on the spreader turns and telescopes freely. Be sure the tractor PTO master shield is in place and in good condition.

• Keep everybody—especially children—away from the gutter cleaner while it is operating.

• Mount the new SMV emblem on the back of the spreader if you have to go on a road. Use the spade-mounted kind so you can take it off while spreading and replace it before going back on the road.

• If you have to get off the tractor for any reason, turn off the PTO first; even when you scrape down the empty spreader to prevent freezing! Too many farmers have been caught in a manure spreader's side shaft when guards and shields have deteriorated and they reach over the side of the box.

• Never stand on a V-tank spreader so that your chest is above the top edge where you could fall over into it.

• If you get stuck in the mud or snow, try to back out first because there is much less chance of tipping over the tractor. Before the clutch gets burned up, go get help.

• The safest way to tow a stuck tractor is to fasten the chain to the front frame of both tractors positioned nose-to-nose, and back up the towing tractor. Wrap the chain from the bottom, up around to hook it. (That way if the hook breaks the chain flies to the ground instead of up and through the cab window.)

• If for some odd reason you have to hook the chain to the rear of the tractor, hook only to the drawbar. (One of the leading causes of tractor rollover and death of the operator is hooking above the drawbar.)

• If you load manure from a pile with a skid-steer or front-end loader, never ram the pile. Carry the loaded bucket low and before you raise it over the edge of the spreader be sure you are on a reasonably level area. Always look behind when backing and only use a tractor with a ROPS and your seat belt fastened.

I'm sure you realize the vast majority of farm injuries and deaths could have been prevented if someone involved had done something just a little differently. This fall and winter take a few extra seconds to think through each part of the process of taking out the manure. Make yourself not take shortcuts, especially when you are cold, wet or tired. The life you safe could be your child's, your spouse's, or your own. Sometimes it is those who survive that suffer most.