New DVD launched to help promote farm safety


( HALIFAX ) – A new farm safety resource has been launched to help reduce the number of farm related injuries and fatalities in Canada.

The DVD, entitled “Farm Safety Means Farm Safely”, has 13 instructional segments that cover such topics as safety for seniors, livestock handling, keeping small children safe, hearing damage, and cell phone safety. The bilingual DVD also shares the stories of three Canadian farmers who survived farm related tragedies and how it has changed their lives.

This project was produced by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) and Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited with the support of the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) as part of an ongoing campaign to reduce farm-related injuries and fatalities. Each year an average of 115 people are killed and another 1,500 are injured on farms, while many more minor injuries go unreported.

“Today's farms are bigger and more advanced, and their operations are more complex than ever,” explains Bob Friesen, President of CFA. “This puts an even greater emphasis on the need for safety because a farm is not only an industrial work site, but also a home where the farm family, including the children, spends its day-to-day life.”

The DVD launch was part of the recent Annual General Meeting of CASA held in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The meeting attracted dozens of Canada’s leading farm safety experts to shares ideas and resources to further farm safety in Canada. A free copy of the DVD is available by e-mailing your request to farmsafety@cfafca.ca .

“At Pioneer we are pleased to be a partner in the farm safety network in Canada,” said Art Stirling, Government & Industry Affairs Manager for Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited, a DuPont company. “Daily attention to safety on the farm is critical since it is not only a workplace but almost always a home as well. The whole farm family must be careful.”

More information on the Farm Safety Means Farm Safely DVD and other farm safety materials are available at www.cfafca.ca.

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