‹ Back to Light Flashes

Farmers keep food on our tables and help bring resources, like cotton and peanuts, into our lives. We’re providing some reminders to help people working on the farm be safe, especially around power lines.

• Protect yourself and workers by keeping farm equipment at least 10 feet away from power lines in all directions at all times.

• Use spotters when moving or raising tall equipment and loads. Power lines can be closer than they look. Someone watching to keep equipment away from power lines could save lives.

• Lower equipment extensions, portable augers or elevators to the lowest possible level before moving or transporting them. This lessens the possibility that wind, uneven ground and shifting weight causes
you to lose control of equipment and make contact with power lines.

• Notice height differences when loading and transporting larger modern tractors with higher antennas.

• Call your utility to repair, raise or move sagging power lines on or near your property. Never attempt to do this yourself.

• Break up bridged grain inside and around bins with wood poles or other safe material. Do not use metal poles, which are electrocution hazards.

• Be careful not to raise ladders, poles and rods into power lines. Also, remember that non-metallic materials, such as lumber, tree limbs, tires, ropes and hay can also conduct electricity.

• Wait for utility workers to de-energize a power line and confirm that it’s safe to exit equipment that contacts a power line. You could receive a fatal shock if you step off the equipment, because you become the electricity’s path to ground. If the vehicle is on fire and you must exit, place both feet together and jump clear of the vehicle. Then, shuffle away from the vehicle, keeping your feet together and on the ground to prevent current flow through your body.

We’re connecting you to safety, because it’s the most important crop you’ll ever harvest.