IT’S TIME TO PLAN FOR FARM SAFETY EDUCATION

The 2025 potato season is upon us, and it is time for growers to plan to provide safety education for their workers. On the Washington State Potato Commission Resources and Education section of our website (WASHINGTON STATE POTATO COMMISSION), we offer educational videos in English and Spanish on Harvest Truck Safety, Harvest Safety, and Food and Farm Worker Health and Hygiene.  In addition, we provide website links with descriptions to farm safety videos in English and Spanish, other farm safety resources, and Washington State Heat Rules. We recommend safety education be an annual event for each farm and be tailored to the needs of individual farm workers and the tasks they will conduct. Each safety training should be documented with a description of the training, the date and time it took, and a printed name and signature of the manager in charge of the training and the farm workers being trained.

Farm worker safety training is important. The economic impact incurred by a farming operation from a worker injury depends on the nature of the injury and is comprised of direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include the medical costs of the injury, while indirect costs include loss of productivity, and equipment downtime and damage. According to studies cited by Penn State University Extension (Farm Safety: Investing in Farm Sustainability), indirect costs could be as high as ten-times that of direct costs. Thus, the cost of non-surgical treatment of a broken hand may be $6,000 and include an X-ray, a facility fee, and a doctor fee. Indirect costs for the same injury could be as high as $60,000. Direct costs are typically paid by insurance, while growers pay indirect costs. A larger cost that is not monetary includes pain and suffering, and permanent damage and disability that impacts the worker, co-workers, and the worker’s family and dependents.