Ag Safety Awareness Program Week: The finances of safety

Ag Safety Awareness Program (ASAP) Week is March 7-11, and the theme for 2022 is, "Prepare. Prevent. Protect." The designation was created by the American Farm Bureau Federation to bring awareness to safety and health issues in agriculture, and is supported by the U.S. Agricultural Safety and Health Centers, a program of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Each day focuses on a different message, and today's theme is finances and the cost of safety. The ASAP Week website highlights these programs:

• Nothing can affect the finances of a farm or ranch like an injury. Protect yourself and your ability to work by following safety guidelines when bending, climbing, and lifting heavy items. The National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety and the National Farm Medicine Center share proper techniques for avoiding these injuries on the Cultivate Safety website.
  
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  Be mindful of your movement to prevent injuries

  
  Don't let secondary injuries keep you on the sidelines

• Of course, no price can be placed on the health and safety of children. Still, according to the National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, "non-fatal youth agricultural injuries cost society an estimated $1.26 billion per year and can wipe out an individual family farm's annual profits in just days, depending on severity." The group's website offers extensive information, printable brochures and checklists, resources, and safety tools for keeping children safe on the farm.
  
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  Choosing age-appropriate chores

Click here to learn more about ASAP Week and find additional resources.