Editor's Note: Go here to find safety resources for your dealership.

Each year since 1944, the third week of September has been recognized as National Farm Safety & Health Week. This recognition has been an annual promotion initiated by the National Safety Council and has been proclaimed as such by each sitting U.S. President since Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the first document. Over the years, the development and dissemination of National Farm Safety & Health Week materials has shifted to the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety. NECAS is the agricultural partner of the National Safety Council and has been serving families and businesses in agriculture since 1997. 

The 2019 theme for National Farm Safety & Health Week is “Shift Farm Safety into High Gear”. Go to our website, www.necasag.org for information and public service announcements related to this year’s theme. We thank our friends at Illinois Farm Bureau for developing the logo again this year.

This year we have themes to focus on for each day of National Farm Safety and Health Week with a webinar planned for noon each day.

• Monday — Tractor Safety/Rural Roadway
• Tuesday — Farmer Health & Opioid/Suicide Prevention
• Wednesday — Safety & Health for Youth in Agriculture
• Thursday — Confined Spaces in Agriculture
• Friday — Safety & Health for Women in Agriculture

The theme “Shift Farm Safety into High Gear” is one that resonates and reminds us that it is everyone’s responsibility to prioritize safety on the farm and the rural roadways of America. The 2017 data for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the agricultural sector is still the most dangerous in America with 581 fatalities, which equals 23.0 deaths per 100,000 workers.

As we recognize National Farm Safety & Health Week this September, please join us in promoting safe and healthy practices on our farms and ranches as producers enter the harvest season across the U.S. and beyond. We welcome your collaboration and participation.