According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every day across the nation, about 100 agricultural workers suffer a lost-work-time injury.
Since 1993 the Montana Ag Safety Program has provided Montana's farmers and ranchers with resources and training to increase workplace safety within Montana's agriculture industry.
Austin Grazier is the Director of the Montana Ag Safety Program. He explained that the program is designed to provide Montana's farmers and ranchers with resources and training to increase workplace safety within Montana's number one industry.
“A lot of workplace injuries that we see on farms and ranches are typically related to either livestock, four-wheeler, or some type of vehicular related injury,” explained Grazier. “Whether or not it's a farm operation or ranching operation, we all deal with four-wheelers. We all deal with tractors. So, we can always tailor that towards creating some new information providing resources for each farm or ranch.”
Administered through the Montana State Fund and supported by seven Montana agriculture associations, the program provides ag safety with four key areas of support. Those include:
- Provide agriculture safety material
- Present agriculture workers' compensation workshops
- Develop member farm and ranch safety plans
- Evaluate member farm's and ranch's safety programs
“You can earn a partial premium return on your State Fund policy,” said Graizer. “So, there's that monetary incentive to incentivize our farmers and ranchers to create a safety program to provide training and work with their employees. All to make sure that they're operating tractors safely, working around livestock safely and that they're really considering how to be safe while they're working on the farm or ranch.”
For more on how your farm or ranch can participate in reducing workplace accidents, visit MtAgriSafety.com.
