News

Harvest safety tip #1: Use GPS Locator

A farm safety specialist says activating the GPS locator on cell phones is the most important safety measure during harvest regardless of cell service.

Craig Anderson with Michigan Farm Bureau says farmers knowing where they ARE and using GPS helps 911 find them.  “Many cases if we have an issue, we’re a long ways away from a road, we may or may not have cell service, and if we have cell service we may or may not be connecting to a tower that would give very, very good information as to where we’re at.”  Anderson tells Brownfield most 911 services can get within a thousand feet of calls made through phones that have the GPS locator turned on.

He says famers and the public need to share the roads to avoid traffic collisions.  “We work long hours, we work in many cases 24 hours a day depending on the circumstances, and we ask that people outside of the farming community also recognize that we have a right and a need to be using the roads.”

Anderson says fires are also a common safety concern during harvest and every tractor, combine and truck should have a properly working fire extinguisher.

AUDIO: Interview with Craig Anderson