If you have to shout to be heard by someone three feet away, you need hearing protection. You should use only approved hearing protection. Spend the time now and find the personal hearing protection that works for you before the busy buzz of harvest."
Another important area of emphasis is preventive maintenance. This practice has been recommended for farm equipment for decades. Keeping machines properly lubricated and changing the oil on a regular basis can reduce engine wear and control vibration, both of which should extend the life of the machine and make for safer and healthier operators. Some farmers follow through on preventive maintenance religiously, others do not and may leave guarding and shielding off the equipment following their maintenance chores.
Preventive maintenance is just as important for smaller machines, like lawn mowers and chain saws. Although the investment in these smaller machines is significantly less, they are still pieces of equipment that will respond well to consistent preventive maintenance.
Lawn mowers should be maintained in the same condition as when they were new. This means that all grass deflectors are in place and functioning for their intended purposes. Mowers with missing deflector shields are often the culprit when flying debris hits a bystander, or is projected into a building or car window.
Chain saws are known to produce extremely high noise levels and maintaining their muffler systems in original condition will go a long way to reducing the operator's exposure to occupational hearing loss.
So, no matter its size and investment cost in the machine, keep it well-maintained to reduce your exposure from a costly injury or property damage incident. This is true whether your spread is 1,000 acres or one-quarter acre, safety is one size fits all.
Jeff Semler is an Extension educator, specializing in agriculture and natural resources, for the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension. He is based in Washington County. He can be reached weekdays by telephone at 301-791-1404, ext. 25, or by e-mail at jsemler@umd.edu
