Guelph, ON, February 11, 2013: The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA), the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), and exclusive corporate sponsor Farm Credit Canada (FCC) are pleased to announce a unique learning opportunitity for farmers, students and other farm safety supporters.
On Monday, March 11, 2013, CASA, CFA, and FCC are teaming up with Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS) and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) to host FarmSafe Forum, a free, one-day event featuring an on-farm inspection training workshop. Forum participants will also hear from local farmers and safety advocates on such topics as dealing with farm injuries or taking action on safety. The event takes place in conjunction with Canadian Agricultural Safety Week (March 10 to 16, 2013).
“Many farmers have told me that they don’t know where to start when developing a safety plan. Learning how to identify hazards and to prioritze them is one of the first steps, and that is the exercise we will be featuring at the FarmSafe Forum,” says Marcel Hacault, Executive Director of CASA.
Over a year ago, CASA and WSPS partnered to develop the Ontario FarmSafe Plan, a business-risk management tool that enables farmers to develop their own customized farm safety plans. That plan is based on CASA’s Canada FarmSafe Plan, and available but adapted for Ontario-specific requirements.
“The Ontario FarmSafe Plan responds to a very real customer need,” says Elizabeth Mills, President & CEO of Workplace Safety and Prevention Services (WSPS). “WSPS is happy to work with CASA to provide a plan and support these workshops in order to enable the agriculture and landscaping communities to prosper and stay safe.”
“The Forum will be a great opportunity to meet with other farmers and learn about best practices that could benefit your farm. Across Ontario, I am continually inspired by the innovation and entrepreneurship farmers bring to their businesses, and on-farm safety is certainly part of that,” says Mark Wales, OFA President.
“We have a lot to be proud about the agriculture industry in Ontario,” says Barry Smith, FCC Vice-President of Western Ontario Operations. “To keep this growth up, planning for safety is key, both off and on the farm. We’re committed to helping Canadian producers stay safe at work, and this year’s Canadian Ag Safety Week is a great way to raise awareness of just how important being committed to safety is.”
For more information on the Ontario FarmSafe Plan, or to access related training workshops, go to: http://www.healthandsafetyontario.ca/Resources/TopicList/Agriculture-Industry-Sector.aspx.
Canadian Agricultural Safety Week (CASW) is a public education campaign focusing on the importance of practicing safe agriculture. This year, the theme for CASW is “Get with the Plan!” and encourages farmers to develop written health and safety plans. FarmSafe Forum events are being held in conjunction with CASW in Guelph, Ontario and Truro, Nova Scotia. For more information about CASW or FarmSafe Forum events, or to access CASW media kits, go to www.agsafetyweek.ca. Media kits include press releases, feature farmer profiles, safety advice articles, psas and radio psas and graphics.
Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA), and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) deliver CASW in partnership with exclusive corporate sponsor Farm Credit Canada (FCC) and the Government of Canada through Growing Forward, a federal, provincial, territorial initiative.
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For more information contact:
Michelle French Lancaster, CASA Communications, Tel: 1-877-452-2272 E-mail: mfrenchlancaster@casa-acsa.ca
Jessica Goodfellow, CFA Director of Communications, Tel: 613-236-3633 ext. 2322 E-mail: communications@cfafca.ca
Aliya Ladha, FCC Communication Consultant, Tel: (306) 780-5635 E-mail: aliya.ladha@fcc-fac.ca