We all have stories of family or friends in agriculture who have experienced medical emergencies in the field or on the farm.

Maybe we have our own stories to share of just-in-time first responders, of rushed drives to the closest hospital an hour away, of helicopter flights to trauma centers counties away.

In nearly every story there’s an element of luck, or divine intervention, that has a hand in ensuring that the patient goes home to their friends and family. The plastic shovel, found on the roadside, used to disengage a farmer from the downed power lines. Or the new employee who has EMT training and can stop the bleeding until the ambulance navigates to the field. Maybe even just the quirk of fate or a guardian angel who whispered “Slow down on this curve, you’re in too big of a rush”— helping us narrowly miss oncoming traffic.

All of us also have stories of friends and family in agriculture who started their mornings heading to the field, expecting just to harvest some grain or put up some hay, and never returned home that evening to their chair at the kitchen table.

One more time: Safety first

Friends, you’ve heard me and others tell you year after year: “Safety first out there.” We’ve used oceans of printer’s ink and miles of paper to warn you about PTOs, skin cancer and electrocution from overhead power lines. We’ve made videos about lagoon and grain bin entrapments, about safely handling livestock and about children’s safety on the farm. And the sheer number of pamphlets, brochures, safety posters and other printed giveaway materials distributed over the past 80 years has got to be close to filling the Grand Canyon.

Some of you have listened. Some of you have spouses who listened and who nagged you into changing your ways. And some of you won’t change until tragedy strikes too close to your own home.

Rethink kit, protocols

I’ve been thinking about farm safety a bit here lately. More now that I’m older and slower that I was in my 20s. And I’m rethinking my safety protocols, and what I carry in the kit that I take with me on the road.

Maybe you should, too.

Now, I know it’s impossible to prepare for every emergency on the farm. I know that we can take all the precautions in the world, and accidents will still happen. Still, we must educate ourselves and our employees, our neighbors and our family about how to respond in case the worst happens.

Here’s hoping none of us ever need to use the preparation.