Level 1

Farm Safety

In rural Alberta, it is common for children to live, work, and play on the farm. Farming is an important job, but it can also be a very dangerous one. In Alberta, there are an average of 3 deaths among children and youth that happen each year as a result of injuries on the farm.¹

Of the children who died, 88% were not working but were within the area where work-related activities were taking place. Farms can be hazardous, but by implementing injury prevention strategies, farms can be a wonderful place for children to live and grow.

Children require safe places to play outdoors on the farm. At this age, they still require supervision, and are not ready for performing agricultural work tasks. Key strategies to keep children safe on the farm include:

1. Clearly define spaces that are for work and designated safe spaces that are for play. Safe areas for children to play in should be fenced and free from all hazards. Hazards that can be found on farms include:

a. Water hazards such as irrigation ditches, dams, dugouts and lagoons
b. Heavy machinery like tractors and turbines
c. Grain wagons
d. Siloes
e. Fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals
f. Loud noises
g. Large livestock

2. Explain to children that farm machines are not toys. Farm machines are dangerous, and children should not play on or near heavy machinery.

a. Always lock or remove the key from farm machines when not in use.
b. Do not allow children as passengers on farming equipment, like mowers, tractors, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs, quads), or truck beds.

3. Visitors to the farm may not be aware of the hazards present on the farm. Ensure that they understand the hazards on the farm and that visiting children know where it is safe to play.

4. Inspect your farm and look for hazards. Remove or modify any identified hazard to prevent farm-related injuries. See https://www.agsafeab.ca for more information.

References

1. Injury Prevention Centre. Agriculture-related injury deaths, hospital admissions and major trauma in Alberta. Edmonton, AB: Injury Prevention Centre; 2016

GRADE 1 - Physical Education and Wellness Curriculum

ORGANIZING IDEA

Safety: A lifetime of optimal well-being is supported by prioritizing health and safety.

GUIDING QUESTION

How can boundaries contribute to safety?

LEARNING OUTCOME

Students explain how boundaries connect to safety.

Safety includes understanding the differences between situations that are safe and those that are unsafe or uncomfortable.

Personal and group boundaries can be expressed through

  • rules
  • symbols
  • signs
  • body language

Safety includes knowing the difference between safe and unsafe substances at home, in the school, and in the community.

A variety of substances can be harmful, such as:

  • household products
  • medication
  • poison

It is important to ask for help in situations that do not feel safe.

Boundaries are expressed to indicate a need or a want related to feelings of safety and security.

Describe differences between safe situations and unsafe or uncomfortable situations.

Discuss needs and wants that connect to feelings of safety and security.

Identify household substances that may be harmful.

GRADE 2 - Physical Education and Wellness Curriculum

ORGANIZING IDEA

Safety: A lifetime of optimal well-being is supported by prioritizing health and safety.

GUIDING QUESTION

How can safety be promoted in various contexts?

LEARNING OUTCOME

Students examine and apply personal safety in a variety of situations.

Safety strategies are developed for a variety of contexts, such as

  • home
  • school
  • online
  • emergencies

Safety is when individuals are free from physical harm or injury, illness, and emotional harm.

Substances can be harmful if used incorrectly or not for the intended purpose.

Situations and contexts may present different safety concerns.

Safety strategies and procedures can be practised in a variety of ways.

Safety is needed for survival.

Trusted adults in the school and community can support individuals in unsafe and uncomfortable situations.

Safety involves assessing for potential risk or injury by identifying safe and unsafe situations and substances.

Safety is when individuals are free from physical harm or injury, illness, and emotional harm.

Discuss ways to respond in unsafe or uncomfortable situations.

Classify situations that are safe and unsafe.

Describe situations where substances may be harmful.

Examine how safety can be improved in a variety of situations.

Learning Objectives

  1. Identify areas in the farm that are for work, and areas that are for play.
  2. Identify at least 3 farm safety rules.

Key Messages

  • Keep away from large farm machinery.
  • Playing in dugouts, lagoons and irrigation ditches is dangerous.
  • Large animals can be unpredictable. Avoid playing in pastures or pens.
  • Ask an adult to help find safe places to play on the farm. Ensure that when your friends visit, they know where it is safe to play.

Required Materials / Teacher Preparation

  1. The Alberta Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development Ministry provides a free manual on how to plan a farm safety day camp. The day camp is an interactive and rewarding opportunity to teach children about the importance of farm safety. A complete manual on how to plan your day camp, including a timeline, presenter notes, itinerary, caregiver letter, and activities, is available at: https://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$Department/deptdocs.nsf/all/aet11862/$FILE/Planning-a-Farm-Safety-Daycamp.pdf.
  2. Access to the internet, a projector and screen, as well as the farm safety game "Splat", created by the Heartland Training and Support Hub (formerly the Alberta Farm Safety Centre) can be accessed for free at: Splat - Heartland Training and Support Hub .
  3. "Stay Safe on the Farm" storybook.
  4. Internet connection for videos and slides.
  5. Flipchart paper / whiteboard / SMART board.
  6. Chromebooks / computers for students for the game "Splat".
  7. Copy of hazards on the farm worksheet, and My Safe Farm worksheet for each student, or online as a class.
  8. Farm Safety Grades 1&2 slidedeck.

Time Required to Teach Lesson

  • The Alberta Farm Safety Day Camp comprises the entire school day.
  • In-class lesson - approximately 30 minutes.

Safety Considerations

  • None.

Activities

1. If you are choosing to host a Farm Safety Day Camp, students will participate in a number of activities. Different stations should be set up for children to rotate through, including a chemical display, magnetic storyboard, gravity flow grain wagon, hand signal display, helmet display, hazard hunt, and hearing display. Check out the Planning a Farm Safety Day Camp resource.

2. Listen to and watch the "Stay Safe on the Farm" storybook (5min) that talks about safety on the farm.

3. For the in-class activity, set up a computer, projector, and screen, and load the game "Splat" onto the whiteboard / SMART board.

a. Select a character in the game and walk through the game with the class. Select questions from each of the categories and answer the farm safety questions.
b. Categories include electricity, runover / rollover, animal safety, entanglement, chemical safety, drowning (including grain), hearing safety, ATV safety, and general safety.

i. Be sure to read the correct answer and review each farm safety rule before moving on to the next question.

4. Explain to the class that they are going to learn about safe spaces on a farm. Farms have spaces that are for working and places for playing and these spaces should be separate. Ask the class what type of things they could find on a farm? You can use the Farm Safety Grades 1&2 slidedeck to help provide visuals when discussing this topic.

a. Answers could be: barns, equipment and machinery (i.e., tractors, animals, chemicals, gates, bales of hay, vehicles, playgrounds, grain mills / wagons, ponds / dugouts / other bodies of water). Explain to the class that kids on farms need a safe place to play away from the work area. Explain the types of hazards that there can be around these areas (noted on the slides).
b. A safe play area should:

i. Have designated boundaries or physical barriers like fences, gates or shrubs
ii. Be away from car / truck / other vehicle traffic
iii. Be away from hazards such as machinery or unstable structures (tractor tire leaning against building)
iv. Be away from loud noises
v. Not be near open water
vi. Have shade from the sun
vii. Have shelter from the wind and dust
viii. Be protected with a strong barrier separating children from the worksite
ix. Be close to where an adult can supervise
x. Be close to first aid, hand washing and bathrooms
xi. Be kept tidy
xii. Be in a location where there is less risk of coming into contact with animals, snakes or insects that might pose a health hazard

5. Review some farm safety rules with the class including:

a. Always ask an adult if it is a safe place to play if you are unsure
b. Never play on equipment or ride on tractors
c. Never play in grain silos or wagons

6. Hand out the hazards on the farm worksheet to each student, or show on a screen and have the class identify 8 hazards in the worksheet. The answer sheet follows with an explanation.

7. After talking about how to have stay safe on the farm have the class complete the My Safe Farm worksheet.

Class Discussion Questions

a. Your friend comes over to play on your farm and wants to go play in the barn. What should you do or say?
Prompts: It is not safe to play in the barn as there are big animals in there. Let’s
go play on the swing set behind the fence over here where it is safe to play away from hazards. Farm machines are not toys.

Let's Review

Today we learned how to be safe on a farm.

Let's Review: Farm Safety

Are you ready to review what we learned?
Select ‘true’ or ‘false’ for each question.

1 / 4

1. It is okay to play near tractors.

2 / 4

2. If you think something is unsafe, you should ask an adult for help.

3 / 4

3. It is okay to play in grain silos.

4 / 4

4. You should always be with an adult when you are around livestock.

Your score is

The average score is 33%

0%

Home Connections

Send a letter home to caregivers informing them their child will be learning about farm safety. If the child lives in a rural community, encourage caregivers to do a farm safety tour with their children.

Community Connections

Invite a representative from a local community health centre, public health centre, or health promotion facilitator to come and present to the class on the importance of farm safety. For more specific information on farm safety, contact the Heartland Training and Support Hub (formerly the Alberta Farm Safety Centre), who have representatives based across the province who can provide physical and virtual farm safety presentations.

Sample Letter

(may be printed on school letterhead or used as a template for SchoolZone / SeeSaw)

Dear Parent / Caregiver,

Today our class learned about the importance of farm safety.

If you live in a rural or agricultural community or visit a farm, there are things you can do as a parent/caregiver to help keep your child safe on the farm. The following strategies are things that you can do on the farm to help keep your child injury-free:

  1. If you work on a farm, complete a farm safety assessment - check out this link for more information https://agsafeab.ca/resources 
  2. Tour the farm and look for hazards, and remove or modify any identified hazard to prevent farm-related injuries.
  3. If you live on a farm, clearly define spaces that are for work, and safe spaces that are for play. Safe areas for children to play in should be fenced, and free from all hazards.
  4. Children do not have the same strength, knowledge, experience, coordination, and control as adults. Children may not be able to fully understand the risk of the activity they are doing. Ensure children only perform activities that are within their limits.
    a. Please refer to the Ag Youth Work Guidelines to determine which activities are age-appropriate for your child to perform on the farm. The Ag Youth Work Guidelines can be found at:
    https://cultivatesafety.org/safety-guidelines-search/?category=familyyouth
    b. More information can be found on MyHealthAlberta at:
    https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Alberta/Pages/keeping-your-child-safe-on-a-farm.aspx

By using these strategies, you can help teach your child to remain free from injury so that they can live and work on the farm safely.

Sincerely,

[Insert Teacher Name Here]

Additional Resources

Agriculture for Life:
https://www.agricultureforlife.ca

AgSafe Alberta:
https://www.agsafeab.ca

Heartland Training and Support Hub (formerly the Alberta Farm Safety Centre):
https://www.heartlandsupport.ca/

McKevitt, M. (2020). Stay Safe on the Farm with Mama Meow. Alberta Farm Safety Centre. Youtube.
https://youtu.be/tKVK2-MyK9k

National Children’s Center for Rural and Agriculture Safety. (2017). Child development and working in agriculture.
https://cultivatesafety.org/resourcesearch/?view=r-130

National Children’s Center for Rural and Agriculture Safety. (2022). Cultivate safety.
https://cultivatesafety.org/work

National Children’s Center for Rural and Agriculture Safety. (2020). Principles of child development associated with play (Ages 6 mos - 10 yrs).
https://cultivatesafety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Child-Development-and-Play.pdf

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