Rumsey Record
Thank goodness the weather has turned around and decided to cooperate for the grain farmers in our area, so happy harvesting, everyone. As I said last week, things are pretty quiet around the community because everyone is in a rush to get their gardens and fields emptied to store all that goodness away for winter.
The Ag Society had received some farm safety kits this summer and were handing them out free to anyone in the community, so with that in mind, I thought I would reiterate some of the most important farm safety messages to keep you safe throughout this rush-rush season. If you didn’t receive your kit, just contact one of the Ag members about it.
1. When starting in a new area, do a quick safety check of buildings and grounds for fire hazards, hidden holes that could cause equipment to tip, hidden objects that could damage your equipment and cause a delay;
2. Keep your tools stored in their correct location so you can find them quickly when you need them and they don’t cause injury or damage being dropped in the wrong spot;
3. Store farm chemicals and their empty containers carefully where kids and animals can’t get to them. Treat jerry cans with gas just as carefully;
4. Keep your safety equipment readily available, like those safety glasses, gloves, hearing protection, coveralls and face masks for handling chemicals, cleaning grain bins and barns. Keep your fire extinguishers handy and ready to use. Be careful to not wear loose clothing around moving equipment because as we all know how quickly that can get wrapped around a PTO shaft;
5. Talk to your kids as you work about the safety aspects of your job so it becomes an ingrained part of their thought process as they grow and work beside you on the farm;
6. Never leave running equipment unattended. Thinking you will only be gone for a minute always add up to more time away when a child or animal could get wander into the work site and get hurt;
7. Watch how your work partner hitches a ride, don’t let someone sit on a fender, hang off the steps of the tractor, jump on the back or on the hitch. This is unsafe and could lead to a tragic end;
8. Dealing with livestock also has its safety aspects as well. Take it easy and slow, animals always react better in a calm environment. Maintain your corral and fencing to reduce chance of injury to you or them;
9. Take a few extra minutes now to prevent years of pain and suffering later. You can’t go back on a bad decision so make the best one now.
Also, if you belong to the Agri-Stability program, those forms are due in at the end of this month. You can tell it wasn’t designed by a farm when they pick the busiest time of the year to get your books in order!
Finally, the joke of the week:
A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgery. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird’s chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, “I’m so sorry, Cuddles has passed away.”
The distressed owner wailed, “Are you sure? “Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead,” he replied. “How can you be so sure,” she protested. “I mean, you haven’t done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something.”
The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room, and returned a few moments later with a large black Labrador Retriever. As the duck’s owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog, took it out, and returned a few moments later with a beautiful cat.
The cat jumped up on the table and also sniffed delicately at the bird. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room. The vet looked at the woman and said, “I’m sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck.” Then the vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman.
The duck’s owner, still in shock, took the bill. “$150”, she cried, “$150 just to tell me my duck is dead” The vet shrugged. “I’m sorry. If you’d taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, but what with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan.....
Have a good week, everyone