Four Prairie Grower Organizations Contribute to CASA’s Grain Safety Program

Winnipeg, MB, September 20, 2016: The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association is pleased to announce that four grower organizations – Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA), Alberta Pulse Growers (APG), Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC), and Prairie Oat Growers Association (POGA) – have committed $120,000 to CASA’s Grain Safety Program.

“Having producer support of the Grain Safety Program is vital to the success of this initiative,” says Marcel Hacault, CASA’s Executive Director.

Each organization is supportive of the Grain Safety Program, and they are pleased to be educating farmers, farm workers, and farm families about the dangers of grain. “The Alberta Wheat Commission is excited to be part of this grain safety initiative and it supports our belief that education is the most effective way to promote farm safety,” says Kevin Auch, AWC Chair. “This is a great program and our commitment ensures growers have access to tools that can help shape a safe farming operation.”

Contributed over the life of the program, the $120,000 will help the Grain Safety Program launch and operate. The Grain Safety Program includes a mobile demonstration unit, a trade show display, youth table top displays, and an interactive grain safety website.

The Grain Safety Program will start with one mobile unit and trade show display, focused on Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Farmers and their families will have the opportunity to interact with the display in a variety of locations, including farm shows. “APG’s support of the Grain Safety Program is about reducing injuries and deaths on Alberta farms,” says APG Chair Allison Ammeter, who farms near Sylvan Lake. “Producers and their families take steps to prevent injuries on their farms every day, and we want them to have the best information to stay safe around grain.”

Along with raising the public’s awareness about the dangers of grain, the mobile unit will help train first responders. “The CASA Grain Safety program will support farms to act safely when handling grain, while building expertise for first responders who are faced with a grain entrapment emergency,” says Brett Halstead, President of the Canadian Canola Growers Association.

These four grower organizations know that the number one asset any farm has are its people and the financial cost of a serious injury or death pales in comparison to the emotional loss of a loved one. “As farmers, we are always concerned with the safety of our friends, family and employees, especially on the farm at harvest time. The Grain Safety Program is designed to save lives on the farm, that’s why the Prairie Oat Growers Association is supporting it. If one person’s life is saved from this initiative it’s worth the cost,” says Art Enns, POGA President.

For more information on the Grain Safety Program, please visit casa.acsa.ca/grain or contact CASA at 877-452-2272 or info@casa-acsa.ca.

The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and safety of farmers, their families and agricultural workers. CASA is funded in part by Growing Forward 2, a federal, provincial and territorial initiative and receives additional support from the agricultural and corporate sectors. For more information, visit www.casa-acsa.ca, find us on Facebook or LinkedIn or follow us on Twitter @planfarmsafety.

-30-