Farmers Electric reminds farmers to be safe when operating around power lines

GREENFIELD — At spring planting and fall harvest times, the staff at Farmers Electric Cooperative want to make sure that area farmers do what they can to stay safe on the job.

Holi Weston, Director of Member Services and Communications, explained that naturally, most of the safety tips Farmers Electric cautions farmers on revolve around farming near power lines.

“We have certain times of the year where we have combines running everywhere and we have agricultural equipment that’s pretty tall — it’s a lot taller than it has been in the past — and we think it’s important to remind the operators to look up so they don’t get into the power lines,” Weston said.

Weston explained that a few years ago, Farmers Electric did a campaign to remind farmers to look up and live when working around power lines, and that’s still a good message to share going into this harvest season.

“We just really want to limit the number of accidents that come in contact with energized electric lines,” Weston said. “On an average, energized electric lines kill about 60 farmers in the United States a year. Even if we can prevent one of them because of a message we put on Facebook or put in the paper, that’s something we feel is important.”

More recently, Farmers Electric has been posting harvest safety tips on their Facebook page.

The first tip is to maintain a 10-foot, 360-degree clearance around all utility equipment in each directions.

“That can really be difficult to estimate the difference [above you] because the power lines sometimes look closer or farther away,” Weston said.

A good solution then is to have a spotter or use deployed flags to maintain safe distances from power lines and other equipment when performing field work, Farmers Electric says.

Another tip tells what to do if a piece of equipment you’re operating comes in contact with an energized power line. Weston said farmers can either call the Farmers Electric office at 800-397-4821 or 911 to receive help in that event. Emergency dispatchers know service areas and can contact the right authorities.

In the case of smoke or fire, exit the cab by making a solid jump from the cab without touching it and the ground at the same time, and hop away to safety.

The last tip suggests farmers consider the equipment and cargo extensions of their vehicles. Lumber, hay, tree limbs, irrigation pipe and bulk materials can all conduct electricity, Farmers Electric posted. Keeping all these items out of contact with electrical equipment is paramount.

“We promote farm safety all year but during harvest we really want to bring it to light,” Weston said. “A lot of farmers are working long days. We want to remind them to use all the precautions so that they can farm next year too.”