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Better Pork
October 2016
when feeding, continually updat-
ing WHMIS (Workplace Hazard-
ous Materials Information System),
ensuring all employees are educated
in hydrogen sulfide awareness, and
instructing staff in CPR.
An emotional component
There is no shortage of technical
detail when discussing the topic of
on-farm emergency preparedness.
However, one aspect that’s often
overlooked is the emotional com-
ponent, which the OSCIA plan has
tried to address in its most recent
update. The plan’s section on the
topic of catastrophic livestock losses,
for example, not only addresses
topics such as making a decision on
how you would dispose of livestock
(composting or shipping) should
an accident occur, but also the
emotional component of livestock
loss. In a sidebar titled “Be Mentally
Prepared,” the plan advises farmers
to brace themselves for potentially
devastating losses, and to know
beforehand who to talk to in such an
event. Activists and tourists may also
show up after a catastrophic loss, so
having a support group and plan in
place can be vital.
Other key components of any
emergency strategy, say the Terp-
stras, are preventative measures
taken to reduce identified risks.
To reduce risk of disease out-
break, for example, the Terpstras en-
sure, at their own cost, all the trucks
used for shipping are washed and
disinfected properly. “How many
trucks a day go to a meat processing
facility, and where else have those
trucks been?” says Dennis Terpstra.
“So, we ask our shipping company to
wash the trucks we’ve used. We al-
ways try to take that extra measure.”
On the farm, Dennis Terpstra has
a large sign at the top entrance of
his grain bin that clearly signals the
dangers of going inside alone.
According to the OSCIA emer-
gency plan, which has a specific
section on grain-bin entrapment,
hazards the bin presents include
engulfment in flowing grain, en-
trapment in grain transportation
vehicles, as well as the collapse of
horizontal and vertical grain sur-
faces. The plan advises using a har-
ness and buddy system if you have
to go into the bin and also contains
detailed procedures on how to deal
with entrapment. Always assume
that the entrapped victim is alive, the
plan document says, and never try to
rescue them alone.
“I once knew of someone who
went down in a grain bin to unjam
it,” Terpstra says. “The worst hap-
pened. They were fatally injured.”
If he ever needed to go in, “it will
be with a harness, and someone
standing by as part of a buddy sys-
tem. You can guarantee that.”
According to an OSCIA press
release, over 40,000 Ontario farm
businesses have voluntarily attended
about 3,500 workshops for the envi-
ronmental farm plan, which includes
the emergency plan. These numbers
were released in April 2016 and Ja-
cobs says they grow higher with each
passing week.
More workshop attendees means
more and more farmers are complet-
ing their emergency plans, too.
Being careful when it comes to
on-farm emergency planning doesn’t
mean you can avoid any and every
catastrophe. But it does mean that
you can be prepared, both physically
and mentally, for what can happen
on your specific farm. It also means
that you’re constantly in the business
of engaging in safe farm practices,
which is good for business.
It’s good for Ontario’s healthy
food supply, too.
BP
EMERGENCY
PLANNING
On the farm, Dennis Terpstra has a large
sign at the top entrance of his grain bin
that clearly signals the dangers of going
inside alone.