Safety around farms for farmers and their families is the top priority at the annual pancake breakfast hosted by Wellington County Farm and Home Safety Association (WCFHSA).
The event kicked off with the smell of maple syrup in the air at the Alma Community Centre March 1.
Motor vehicle collisions, mental wellness and agricultural-related injuries are part of the gamut Safe Communities Wellington County educates on. Its booth at the event had information on prevention.
Falls are the most common reason people go to the hospital, said Christine Veit, program coordinator for Safe Communities. There are concerns with older adults falling “because the average length of stay for an older adult over 65-years-old is 65 days in the hospital,” said Veit.
Safe Communities partnered with the Canadian Mental Health Association for farmer mental health. Farmers 55-years-old and older are at risk of having mental health issues, said Veit.
“In our environment now, we're more concerned about the mental safety of a farmer, because there's so many things that he has pressures from. Prices from the market, and then pressures from getting the product out, and sometimes the weather isn't cooperating. And so mental awareness is probably one of our huge things that we're working on,” said Walter Grose, event organizer and secretary for WCFHSA.
WCFHSA hosts a similar event on a farm with livestock and farming equipment. “In the winter time, the farmers aren't on the land, and so they can actually come here,” said Grose.
For children, Grose wants to make them aware of dangers on a farm. Most farms have utility vehicles so wearing a helmet while driving an ATV is a key safety measure.
ATV safety drew April Peek to the event. She has a hobby farm in Kennilworth and wanted to learn about safety because she has grandchildren who visit the farm. She hopes they learn something too. “As we go through the booths, it might be eye opening for what we haven't really known before because we're not crop farmers,” said Peek.
Grose was happy to see the community come out and enjoy breakfast while learning something new.
“We're all providing services, and for people to realize who they can reach out to. That's the biggest takeaway for everybody here,” said Veit.