For many of you the difficult harvest is over. This season in particular, with weather extremes ranging from three months without rain to nine inches of rain within two days just as the harvest was about to begin, our potato producers' sense of accomplishment as each field is finished is indeed well deserved. But, as important as that accomplishment is, safety should be foremost in the minds of growers. Whether it was the difficult harvest or simply the fact that accidents are going to happen, there were too many accidents within the agriculture industry on PEI this year. Loss of life, loss of limb and injury to fingers cannot be experienced without asking why.
Farmers have to see or feel it to make an accident real.
Ms. Alderman asked her neighbour, a farmer for 30 years, to help her with her speech. He told her he was pretty lucky in that they never had a farm safety issue to deal with on their farm. Lisa asked him about the time he fell from a silo, was unconscious for a period of time, hospitalized for three days and badly bruised. Her neighbour did not consider the incident a farm accident because there was no death or loss of limb. Wear comfortable, close fitting clothing which has no loose ends to catch in machinery and which provides adequate protection from strong sun, dampness or cold.