With harvest right around the corner, a flurry of activity is set to descend don't the southeast, with safety being a high priority during those busy days.
Producers will be moving crops and on the road a lot, meaning they'll need to keep an eye out for a number of possible safety issues.
Robin Anderson, the Director of Programs and Communications at the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, says keeping safe is very important.
"I think first and foremost is going to be looking after yourself and looking after the person. You know, machinery can be fixed, those sorts of things can be looked after, but you know your person, your nutrition levels, your hydration, your sleep, those are all really important things to take care of first before you even start thinking about harvest, you know making those plans about getting enough rest and getting enough food, getting the right amount of water just to keep your person at optimal capacity."
Plenty of heavy equipment will be in use through the harvest, with Anderson saying that farmers should double-check that before they get into the swing of things.
"In terms of farm machinery and equipment, first and foremost, making sure that everything is ready to go, that's going to be your number one thing and most farmers do that already. You don't want to have costly breakdowns, you don't wanna have things going on. They're gonna cost you time."
"Make sure that that equipment has the safety shields in place and making sure that you've got things like your fire prevention stuff, your fire extinguishers in place, making sure that your first-day kits are stocked, making sure you have a communications plan, doing walkabouts around that equipment, mapping out their routes."
A lot of farm equipment can be slow and take up a lot of the road, which is why Anderson recommends planning out your route.
"Map your route, know if there are hazards along that roadway, you know low hanging power lines you might have to go around or rail crossings you might have to navigate through."
"If it's a really busy road, understanding that knowing how big that equipment is, do you need to take a different route, make some adjustments to your equipment? Do you need pilot vehicles, those are really good things to think about before you start moving."
Once the crops have been plucked from the ground Anderson says safety is still a concern working with that product.
"The first and foremost thing you want to make sure your bins are ready to accept that grain. You know, making sure that they're clean, making sure the outside is clean, watching out for those sorts of things. So prepping your bin for harvest is going to be a really great way to ensure safety."
"Talking about grain and grain moving and grain entrapment hazards on the farm is really important. Lots of folks don't understand that, you know, grain is like quicksand and it can suck you down very quickly. So if you have visitors, children, people that aren't used to grain, talk about where out-of-bounds areas are and why."
Anderson says anyone looking for more info on farm safety can head to their website at casa-acsa.ca.