Power line safety is one topic farmers should memorize as harvest approaches with plenty of work on the horizon.
Many farmers will be moving giant machinery across fields for over 12 hours a day, and between the stress of harvest and fatigue, there's a lot of room to make a mistake.
SaskPower Spokesperson Scott McGregor talks about how farmers can prepare for the upcoming season.
"As harvest starts off all across the prairies, really the key to remaining safe this harvest season is just being prepared, you know, making sure that you plan to ride ahead of time, that you are taking the appropriate steps to make sure that you are staying safe and working around power lines."
McGregor says farmers should make sure they remain sharp by resting when need be.
"One of the big things that farmers should remember is to be aware of your surroundings. So that means staying alert and taking routine breaks whenever you can just to avoid that fatigue. Utilize a spotter, that extra set of eyes on the ground is really, really valuable, and whenever you're moving your equipment from field to field, lower or retract as much as you can. That way you know your equipment will be a lot smaller to avoid any sort of line contact."
In the case of a line contact, McGregor gives some advice on what farmers should do.
"In the event of a line contact, the most important thing to remember is to stay in your vehicle. The only time that you should be getting out of your vehicle is if a fire has started because of the line contact. So if you do, if an operator of one of these pieces of equipment does come into contact with a power line or a power pole and no fire has started remain in the vehicle and call 911."
"Should a fire be ignited because of the line contact, it's really important that the producers use the safe exit procedure, so to start it's swinging the vehicle door open as wide as you can, making sure you're not touching any part of the outside of the vehicle and just before you leave your vehicle, make sure there's no wires in your way."
"So then standing in the doorway, cross your arms across your chest, and jump as far away from the vehicle as you possibly can, landing with your feet together, and then with your arms still tight to your body, hop away at a safe distance. We recommend about 10 metres or 30 feet or so and then call 911 immediately."
McGregor says that under no circumstances should a person go back to the vehicle until it's been cleared by emergency services.