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OSHA is increasing farm inspections
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is picking-up their inspection of farm operations with 11-or-more employees or a temporary labor camp. Mary Bauer is an OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist in western Wisconsin and she says they are focusing more on dairy farms in areas like hers. “The first thing to do is look at your work site, see what the hazards are.” The usual points of concern are moving parts on machinery, skid-steers, electrical hazards, chemicals, animals and manure pits.
Bauer says it is also very important to train employees, to make sure they know how to do their duties on the farm safely. “You need to train them for your facility,” says Bauer, “You can’t just throw in a video tape.” She also notes that all instructions are given to the employee in the language and literacy level that they can understand.
While Bauer cannot do farm consultations there are a number of agencies and associations which do. University Extension, technical college ag groups, insurance companies and the like are some examples. “The State of Wisconsin has an on-sight consultation service that can come on your farm and do on-site consultation. They do not tell OSHA what they find.”
“The bottom line is we want all farms to do what they can to create a safe environment for its workforce,” Bauer said. “OSHA won’t go and inspect every farm in the state. But we do want to stress that all farm employers are obligated to comply with OSHA regulations—no matter what size they are.”
OSHA visits are always unannounced, when inspectors do come on to the farm, they are required to identify themselves and show identification.
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