Services for Agricultural, Horticultural, and Landscape Industries

The Association was founded in 1973 for the purpose of promoting safety and safety education to Ontario farmers. The Association is governed by a Board of Directors. Eleven of the Directors are appointed by various commodity groups and the remaining eight are elected from the membership at large in the Province.

The Farm Safety Association is unique in Canada in that no other Province has a separate safety association for the agricultural industry. The Association is financed by a portion of the assessments paid to the Workers' Compensation Board by agricultural, horticultural and landscape employers.

MEMBERSHIP

A member of the Farm Safety Association is any agricultural, horticultural, or landscape employer or owner/operator who pays assessments to the Workers' Compensation Board under agricultural rate groups. At present, approximately 25,000 employers and owner/operators are members of the Association. Members are encouraged to exercise their membership privileges and to become involved with the Farm Safety Association.

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE FARM SAFETY ASSOCIATION

The main purpose of the Farm Safety Association is to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities occurring on Ontario farms. The Association's objective is to provide a complete education service to make all persons engaged in agricultural work in Ontario aware of occupational safety and health hazards.

The Association's aim is to make people involved in agriculture in Ontario aware of the proper procedures and precautions necessary in order to preserve people, equipment, materials and the environment, all of which are an integral part of today's workplace.

Safety management is an integral part of good farm business management. The Farm Safety Association encourages farmers to take action before accidents occur.

MEMBER SERVICES

Farm Safety Association staff and resources are available to assist members with the development and maintenance of effective safety programs. These services are provided free of charge to members.

The Association provides a wide variety of services to farmers, employers and agricultural organizations.

Following is a summary of key Farm Safety Association (FSA) services:

• A complete health and safety review of an operation which involves identifying potential hazards and recommending methods of correcting them.
• Assistance to members with the formulation of a safety program, based on a particular operation's requirements.
• On-site safety training sessions with employees and supervisory personnel at the request of management.
• Seminars for management and supervisors on a variety of occupational health and safety topics:
  
  

  Accident Investigation
  Workplace Inspection
  Health and Safety Management
  Claims Management
  Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System

• A range of specialized services such as:
  
  
  1. Checking for toxic gases.
  2. Noise testing.
  3. Audiometric (hearing) tests

Other programs and services provided by the Farm Safety Association include:

1. A comprehensive range of health and safety literature, films and videotapes.
2. A wide variety of fact sheets on various health and safety topics.
3. Accident statistics relating to agricultural injuries.
4. Volunteer associations promoting health and safety.
5. Education programs to teach children about agricultural health and safety.

Contact the Farm Safety Association to arrange for any of the above services.

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