Family Health and Safety Safety Week offers opportunities for learning Take advantage of free webinars offered during National Farm Safety and Health Week. By Lisa Foust Prater Lisa Foust Prater Lisa Foust Prater is the Family & Farmstead Editor for Successful Farming, sharing interesting family features, heartfelt editorial columns, and important health and safety information. Her favorite thing about her job is meeting interesting people, learning their stories, and sharing them with our readers.Lisa started her career with Successful Farming magazine in 1999, working primarily for the web team and writing product reviews for the magazine. She later wrote for the Living the Country Life magazine and website and has written and edited several cookbooks and other books for Successful Farming and Living the Country Life. Successful Farming's Editorial Guidelines Published on September 14, 2023 Close This safety demonstration shows how the combination of ROPS and a seat belt protects a driver. Agriculture-related jobs are still among the most dangerous in America, according to recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Unlike most industries, family members of agricultural workers are also at risk for injury and death because they often share the work. Children are among the statistics. Tractor rollovers are the leading cause of fatalities, accounting for more than half of work-related deaths involving farmers. In fact, one in 10 farmers will overturn a tractor in his or her lifetime, the bureau reports. Because harvest is one of the most dangerous times on the farm, the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety is holding its annual National Farm Safety and Health Week from Sept. 17 to 23 this year. The theme is, “No one can take your place.” Watch and Learn During National Farm Safety and Health Week, AgriSafe Network will provide two free webinars each day. Registering just once allows participants to access all the webinars. Topics are: Sept. 18: Equipment and rural roadway safetySept. 19: Health and wellnessSept. 20: Priority populationsSept. 21: Confined spacesSept. 22: Brain health Top Tractor Safety Tips The Occupational Safety and Health Administration offers these safety tips: Never operate a tractor without a rollover protection system (ROPS). Always wear a seat belt in ROPS-equipped tractors.Do not allow extra riders unless in an approved passenger seat.To avoid side rollovers, keep loads evenly balanced, carry the load as low as possible, and travel slowly on the most even surface available.Do not exceed the towing capacity. This can cause backward rollovers.Keep away from ledges to avoid front rollovers.Drive slowly and reduce speed when turning or traveling on slopes or slick surfaces.See your owner's manual for instructions on using counterweights.If you must drive on a slope, keep the heavy end of the tractor facing uphill. If your view is blocked, get off the tractor and make sure no one is there before taking off. Never let anyone stand between the tractor and an attachment. Wait for all moving parts to stop before dis-mounting the tractor. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit