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Better Pork
October 2016
7
EMERGENCY
PLANNING
GETTING
An emergency can happen at any time and in any place on the
farm operation. Are you prepared?
by DENNIS FURLAN
with the plan
O
ne of the worst scenes any farmer could imagine is standing there,
helpless, while a crisis unfolds on the farm — whether it’s a hired
hand entrapped in a grain bin, a severe fuel or pesticide leak, a col-
lapsed electricity tower, or a raging barn fire with live animals trapped inside.
Sometimes, no amount of prevention or planning can stop such tragedies, or
even rescue animals and/or people. However, sometimes, the right approach
can not only help avoid such crises, but allow for managing them if and when
they occur.
Such an approach involves the instituting of an on-farm emergency plan,
which outlines emergency protocols. As much as we all like to think we can
handle ourselves when stuff happens, the fact is that, when a fire is raging
across a farm, or an individual is trapped in a grain bin, there is no time to
think. If emergency procedures aren’t in place, the worst can happen.
These types of procedures can be outlined in any on-farm emergency plan,
which can be prepared through resources made available at many levels of
government. Alternatively, farmers can take the initiative and develop an
emergency plan that’s their own. Either way, such a plan should contain vari-
ous contingencies that can be initiated once an emergency strikes.
The OSCIA emergency plan
Such an example of an emergency plan has been made available by the On-
tario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) as part of an over-
all environmental farm plan. The emergency plan itself provides guidance
to farmers on a wide range of emergency protocols, including emergency
contact lists, farmstead maps, equipment inventory and mapping, and action
guidelines for handling spills and other farm emergencies.
Karen Jacobs is the Environmental Outreach Specialist for the OSCIA.
She was a member of the team that prepared the most recent update to the
OSCIA’s emergency plan. The team also included technical specialists from
the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).
Via email, Jacobs says, “There has been an increased level of awareness about
emergency preparedness that needed to be incorporated into a plan we felt
Dennis and Tara Terpstra
review their emergency
plan measures.