Agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries out there, and it's also one of the largest in Saskatchewan. An average of 13 farming related deaths occur each year in the province, so it's important that safety is in the minds of those preparing to till the soil.

That said, the week of March 12th to 18th was declared Agriculture Safety Week.

"It's an awareness week, and it's been put in place about a month before seeding to make people more aware and thinking about working safely on the farm," explained Kim Meyer, who's the Manager of Safety Operations South with Occupational Health and Safety.

"An injury or fatality has a great effect on the farm and it's viability, so we want to stop those things before they happen."

She said that having a plan is the most important first step.

"We'd like farmers to start creating that plan now, while there is time to do so, and it should help everybody who lives and works on the farm to remain safe while they are there. Even visitors should be included."

Meyer added that incidents most often happen during the critical stages of the farming cycle, and having a strategy would help reduce that risk for everyone involved.

"Another essential item is looking at and maintaining your equipment. Make sure that if you have to take a guard off to perform maintenance, you put it back on. That could save an injury or death as you move forward in your year."

"You should also watch for overhead lines. Equipment is getting bigger all the time, and you have to look out for that electrical wire that's running overhead or through the field, and do everything you can to avoid coming in contact with that. When you're moving augers and bins, loading grain trucks and so on, always look up and search for those lines."

In addition, she stressed the importance of ensuring that your workers are trained in their task and the equipment, and that they know what they are doing. 

"Take your time, and plan for those events that you might not normally think are going to happen. If they do occur, then you at least have a strategy in place to keep people safe."

Meyer concluded by noting that the main idea is to have everyone on the farm working safely. 

"Everybody wants to go home to their families at the end of the day, and the more that we can do in getting them there, the better off we are as a province."