Harvest means long hours, increased stress and tight schedules. Because of that, Safe Electricity reminds farmers that it only takes a split second for someone to come into contact with electricity. Your most seasoned worker to your least are all at risk of becoming injured or killed due to electrical contact.
Before heading out to the fields, review overhead power line locations and height clearance with everyone working on the farm. Although harvest is filled with tight deadlines and heightened work stress, making time for safety, including electrical safety, can save lives.
To help keep those who work on your farm safe year-round, follow these electrical safety tips:
- Educate everyone that potential electrical hazards include both direct and indirect contact with an overhead power line or utility pole. Indirect contact (coming too close to a power line) could cause electricity to arc or jump.
- Both direct and indirect contact can change electricity’s path to ground. Once that path changes, the stray voltage can energize anything in its path, such as a truck, a tractor, an extension, the ground or a person.
- Start every workday with a safety meeting. Discuss all operations for the day and go over power line and pole locations. Emphasize safety above speed to everyone on the farm.
- Never assume years of experience on a farm means the worker understands the potential of stray voltage or other electrical hazards. No matter the level, all farm workers should be reminded of safe practices.
- Encourage drivers and operators to position grain augers in their lowest position or to lower truck bed boxes before moving. Be especially cautious of overhead lines when using augers in the field to load trucks on the road.
- Create loading and unloading zones away from overhead power lines.
- Post 10-foot clearance rule and “look up and look out” reminders.
Unfortunately, accidents do happen. It is also a best practice to teach workers what to do if farming equipment makes contact with electrical equipment.
If you see a hydraulic truck bed, extensions or other equipment contact a power line, utility pole or guy wire, instruct the driver to stay in the cab. Call 911 to have your electric cooperative dispatched to deenergize the power. Give instructions from 50 feet away and inform everyone else to stay back.
Know how to instruct someone to properly exit a cab if necessary due to fire. Keeping a 50-foot distance, instruct them to cross their arms close to their chest and make a solid jump out of the cab, landing on both feet. Then, the person should make deliberate hops, with feet together, hopping away as far as they can.
When people walk in an area with stray voltage, they could be exposed to two different voltages at the same time and become electricity’s path to ground. This is known as step potential and is deadly.
Contact your electric cooperative about damaged or downed power lines or poles. Utility crews would much rather check out an issue than risk a potentially dangerous situation. Learn more at SafeElectricity.org. 
