National Farm Safety and Health Week set for Sept. 19-25

Peosta, IA — A series of daily webinars is planned for National Farm Safety and Health Week, scheduled to take place Sept. 19-25.

The theme of the 78th annual event is “Farm Safety Yields Real Results,” a reminder that safety is a vital part of agriculture, according to a press release from the AgriSafe Network, an international nonprofit representing health and safety professionals.

The 10 free webinars will focus on topics relative to agricultural health and safety pros, health care providers, producers, and farmworkers. The event will feature daily themes as well:
Sept. 20: Tractor Safety & Rural Roadway Safety
Sept. 21: Overall Farmer Health
Sept. 22: Safety & Health for Youth in Agriculture
Sept. 23: Agricultural Fertilizer & Chemical Safety
Sept. 24: Safety & Health for Women in Agriculture

National Farm Safety and Health Week has taken place during the third week of September every year since 1944, when the National Safety Council coordinated the project. The National Education Center for Agricultural Safety at Northeast Iowa Community College’s Peosta campus later took control of developing and disseminating each year’s campaign materials.

According to 2018 data from NIOSH, around 2 million full-time workers were employed in production agriculture. Every day, about 100 agricultural workers suffer an injury that results in lost work time.