The Agricultural Alliance of NB Encourages Farmers to Talk About Safety this Ag Safety Week
Fredericton, March 5th, 2014– The Agricultural Alliance of NB (AANB) would like to celebrate Canadian Agricultural Safety Week (CASW) 2014 by encouraging producers to engage in conversations about farm safety.
“The CASW is a period of the year for farmers to reflect on the risk they take every day on the farm, it is crucial that we have discussions with our family members, employees and visitors about farm safety and develop measures to prevent farm injuries. Every one living, working and visiting farms needs to be conscious and remains vigilant throughout the year and make safety a priority”, says Jennifer MacDonald, President of the AANB.
CASW is an annual public education campaign focusing on the importance of safe agriculture. In 2014 the theme is “Let’s Talk About It!,” and organizers want to inspire farmers to think about the importance of communication in the farm workplace through a combination of farmer testimonials, producer resources, and videos.
“Supporting Canadian Agricultural Safety Week and farm safety in general is so important,” says Marcel Hacault, Executive Director of the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA). “We really want to get producers talking about farm safety and thinking about how farm safety applies to their own operations. It’s a first step towards solutions that can help protect everyone who lives, works and visits that farm.”
This year, CASW organizers have developed over 20 free producer tools that can help farmers engage in conversations about safety. Resources include 20 Toolbox Talks (funded by Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited), which enable farm supervisors to conduct safety meetings on a number of topics, and four Farm Talk Series items, which educate producers on everything from how to talk to children about farm safety to overcoming language and cultural barriers with seasonal and migrant workers. These items are available for download on the campaign website at www.agsafetyweek.ca/producer-tools.
A Let’s Talk About It! video series features producers from across the country that have either experienced farm injuries or who are making innovations for safety on their farm. Videos will be posted to the campaign website in the lead up to CASW.
CASW takes place every year during the third week of March and this year runs from March 9th to 15th, 2014. The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) deliver CASW in partnership with the Government of Canada through Growing Forward 2, a federal, provincial, territorial initiative. In 2014, additional CASW partners and sponsors include long-time corporate sponsor Farm Credit Canada, Ag for Life, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, CHS, Imperial Oil and Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited. For more information about CASW visit the campaign website at: www.agsafetyweek.ca.
For more information contact:
Jennifer MacDonald, AANB President, (506) 452-8101
Eric Walker, AANB Agriculture Safety Representative, (506) 452-8101
Josée Albert, AANB CEO, (506) 452-8101
