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Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell has proclaimed Sept. 15-21 as Farm Safety and Health Week in Kentucky, to encourage farmers and farm workers to always put their health and safety first.

Kentucky’s farm safety week coincides with the National Farm Safety and Health Week. With a theme of “Don’t Learn Safety by Accident,” this week emphasizes the need to keep safety top of mind while on the farm.

“The number of risks farmers face every day on the farm are numerous,” Shell said. “Farmers must be vigilant about their surroundings from machinery accidents, chemical exposure, unruly livestock, grain bin entrapment, severe weather and many others. In Kentucky, we have made great strides to mitigate these risks to make farming safer than ever before, but one farm injury is one too many. Whether you are on the farm, on the road, or in the home, please take that extra step to protect yourself and those around you.”

The Farm Safety and Health Week is dedicated to encouraging safe practices on our farms, but also addresses the safety measures the public can take to ensure they and their farming neighbors stay safe on the roads. Fall harvest time can be one of the busiest and most dangerous seasons of the year for the agriculture industry. For this reason, the third week of September has been recognized as National Farm Safety and Health Week. This annual promotion initiated by the National Safety Council has been proclaimed as such by each sitting U.S. President since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) has encouraged safe practices on the farm through its Farm and Home Safety Program which provides educational resources and training to ensure the safety of farmers and their families. The farm and home safety team is always in high demand and in an average year appears at more than 100 events.

The program, which started 25 years ago, added the Raising Hope project under its umbrella this year. Raising Hope, which began as a coalition between KDA and other agriculture, education and healthcare institutions, is dedicated to improving the mental and physical health of farmers. In July 2024, Raising Hope was moved fully under KDA and joined with the Department’s Farm Safety program.