(chiming music) - Hello, and welcome to "Farm Connections."

I'm your host, Dan Hoffman.

On today's episode, we attend a farm equipment and road safety learning event, we discuss the need for strong regulations, visible signage, and recognizable markers with Mary Nesburg from the University of Minnesota, and Tim Mack, an expert speaker in the field of farm equipment safety, all here today on "Farm Connections."

(lively music) - [Announcer] Welcome to "Farm Connections," with your host, Dan Hoffman.

- [Announcer] "Farm Connections" Premier sponsor is Minnesota Corn.

- [Announcer] Programming supported by Minnesota Corn, working to identify and promote opportunities for corn growers, enhance quality of life, and help others understand the value and importance of corn production to America's economy.

(lively music) - [Announcer] Additional support from the following sponsors: - [Announcer] Programming supported by R&S grain systems, a family-owned business, serving its customers for 50 years with leading designs in the manufacturing of grain-handling equipment and grain storage systems.

You can call in for a quote today.

- [Announcer] Programming supported by EDP Renewables North America, owner/operator of Prairie Star and Pioneer Prairie Wind Farms in Minnesota and Iowa.

EDPR wind farms and solar parks provide income to farmers and help power rural economies across the continent.

- [Announcer] Mower County Farm Bureau Association, a KSMQ broadcast sponsor, advocates for agriculture based on the policies and beliefs of its members.

It's dedicated to making the voices of its members stronger.

You can learn more about membership benefits at FBMN.org.

- [Announcer] Programs supported by employee-owned AgVantage software, Rochester, Minnesota, celebrating their 50th year designing and developing agribusiness software for grain elevators, feed manufacturers, producers, fertilizer and chemical dealers, co-ops, seed companies, and fuel distributors.

- I'm an extension educator, obviously with U of M, based in Rochester, but I serve all of Olmsted County.

Coming up here in March will be year two anniversary on the job.

We do lots of local programming, and my partner, Katie Drewitz, here is in Fillmore and Houston Counties, so if you farm down there, she might be a familiar face to you, or if you're Farm Bureau, she's very involved in that crowd.

But we are here today because Kevin and Tom (indistinct) reached out just with concerns.

This part, we see emergency and lots of close calls with motorists on the road, and kind of wanted get some folks gathered in a room, get some experts together to talk about best practices, how to stay safe.

So, yeah.

Kevin, I don't know if you wanted to say anything to kinda introduce the meeting?

(audience applauding) - Welcome to "Farm Connections."

We're in Byron, Minnesota today for a safety program led by Mary Nesburg, University of Minnesota Extension.

Mary, thanks for having us - Thanks.

We're here today to talk about road safety with farmers.

- Why is that important?

- Well, I got a couple of calls from local farmers this harvest season, who had some close calls with people who were not being safe, driving too close to their equipment, and they were getting pretty frustrated so they asked if we could get gathered and talk with some experts about how to stay safe on the roads.

- Well, speaking of frustration, our farmers work all year long to produce the bountiful harvest and the food that we all enjoy right?

- Mm-hmm.

- And then comes harvest.

They've got some very large equipment, they're putting in long hours.

That adds to the frustration on the road, I'm sure.

- Mm-hmm, yeah, they're working long hours, and that equipment is big, and they are working into the night to get that off the field in those nice weather windows if the weather allows, and unfortunately, people have got places they need to be and don't quite give them the respect and width that they might, you know, if they're driving through the city and see a big semi-truck and understanding how wide those turns are, so we're here to talk about at least, what farmers can do on their part to keep safe.

- Great idea, and of course, in this part of the world, our days get a little shorter in the fall, during harvest.

- Sure do.

- Does that cause some extra issues?

- Yeah, yeah, one of the things we'll be talking about today is equipment modifications, and so that might include specific lights that can be added to farm equipment, or reflectors that make them more visible, and, like, where exactly on the equipment they should be, or different types of signage that they could have.

- Mary, it's great that Extension's doing the education piece.

Thank you so much.

There's also some enforcement agencies.

Who might that be?

- Yeah, today we have the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office coming and they're gonna be able to provide some insight on if there is any sort of local interactions they're seeing like vehicle, like farm equipment-vehicle interactions, and also provide some insight for farmers on, like, how they can respond if there was an interaction that they had.

You know, should they be taking pictures of a license plate and sending it in?

Is it worth it to have a vehicle dash cam to be recording images to be sent in?

So the farmers are really looking forward to that kind of live Q&A to pick the sheriff's brain, I know.

- In addition to the local sheriff or the local community police, are there other agencies in law enforcement that might get involved?

- Yeah, we don't have anyone coming today from the state patrol, but we do have a farmer here who's well versed in the CDOT, he's got, like, a CDOT certification, and so he's gonna talk a little bit about the Minnesota state statutes and how those translate to those equipment modifications and those kind of driving, best driving practices that farmers should have.

- Oftentimes, rural people, farm people really like to be compliant with the laws, but they don't always know the laws.

How do they find out more?

- Yeah, so one of the resources that Tim Mack will be presenting, or kind of promoting, is the Farm Bureau Transportation Manual, so it's, like, a orange booklet that your local office might have and that's a really handy thing to keep in the cab with you for quick reference, and just to kinda review, you know, before and after harvest season, just to make sure that you're remembering all the guidelines, 'cause there's a lot.

- There are a lot of guidelines.

Our farm families involve more than just one or two people in their operation.

How do we get the information that needs to be out to the entire family on how to be safe?

- Yeah, the people I definitely think about are the people kind of on either end of that age spectrum.

So there's a lot of youth tractor safety programs.

Not every county has them, and they're run by different entities, and so it could be an extension program, which could be either 4-H, or an extension educator like myself putting it on, it could be a private entity that's putting it on, it could be a Farm Bureau sponsored program, and so there is some information on Extension's website, there's, like, a youth tractor safety website that people can reference to find some local trainings, but then it's also important to think about the older age spectrum and, you know just like you'd have the conversation of should we be driving a car, the same is true for farm equipment, too, and so there's some resources out there to have that sort of discussion.

- Absolutely.

And we've got young people, too, and there's power takeoff shafts, there's equipment moving through yards, there's bicycles, there's ATVs, all-terrain vehicles.

There's a ton of things moving around as that harvest happens, but also, we have flowing grain.

Any thoughts on farm safety inside and around storage bins?

- Yeah, one of the great programs I've seen is my counterpart, Katie Drewitz, down in Fillmore County does the Tesmer Farm Safety Days, and all the fourth graders go through that program, and they talk a lot about grain storage safety, and those equipment, even being around equipment such as, like, lawnmowers, weed whips, like, those kinds of things, and they get some hands-on, real practical guidelines about how to stay safe around those.

I've also seen fire departments put on some really great grain bin programs where they show you how to get rescued, and why it's important, why you can't just self-rescue, why that grain can really become a problem really quick.

- And basically, stay out, and have somebody know where you're at at all times, right?

- Absolutely!

Always have another person there with you.

Never ever go check that grain by yourself.

- And we've got a few safety partners, like Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation, Minnesota Farmers Union, they all want safe and good things to happen, right?

- Mm-hmm, yeah.

- Along with University of Minnesota Extension.

Where can we find more out about safety?

Do you have a website?

- Yeah, we have a great website that we'll put up here on the screen for people to reference, and are always looking to partner and kind of expand programs, so if you feel like you're not sure what programming is available in your area or if you'd like to bring something, reach out to us.

- And your office is located?

- My office is located in Rochester, so I serve all of Olmsted County, but you can always check if there's a local office in your county, too, if you're curious.

- Super amazing what the University of Minnesota and extension educators are able to do.

Thank you for that great work.

- Yeah, yeah.

- And and just in closing, as we think about large machines, darkness, the need for harvest, any general tips or ideas for motorists and farmers as they're moving together on our highways and byways?

- Yeah, make sure that those lights are on, that they're visible.

Tim will talk a little bit about making sure that, you know, LED lights would be a great thing to have 'cause they're brighter than other lights, making sure that they're positioned on the outermost parts of the equipment, like, the very edge that you can mount them, and then he gets into the nitty-gritty of how many you should have, and, yeah, I can't wait to see his presentation, 'cause I can't quite recall exactly what was in there, but.

- Well, there's a lot that happens, that's for sure, and sometimes quickly.

How about spacing of drivers, and equipment on the road, and speed?

Any thoughts?

- Yeah, he talks more about that, and he talks a lot about the danger of having a trailing vehicle behind, and how that's often the most, like, where the collisions would happen with that trailing vehicle, but he's kind of saved that tidbit of, like, when the trailing vehicle is okay, and I'm eager to hear him say when that is okay, - Perfect.

- in what situations, yeah.

- And everyone should give our farmers lots of room on the space, on the roads, and slow down, right?

- Absolutely.

And the last person, we do have another person presenting today, and that's Mike Haugen from Secura Insurance, and so he's gonna talk a little bit more about, like, the bigger picture data, you know, maybe not from, like, our exact region, but what they see with farm equipment and vehicle collisions, and a little bit of that kinda the dash cam, yes, dash cam, no, dash cam, is it helpful in court, is it not helpful in court, so that'll be some good guidance for farmers as well.

- And most importantly, let's keep everybody safe and living.

- Absolutely.

- Thanks for all the good work you do.

- Thank you.

- Stay tuned for more on "Farm Connections."

Hello, I'm Dan Hoffman, host of "Farm Connections," here to share with you a few tips for keeping your friends and family safe during harvest, and all year long.

Did you know, all agricultural equipment that can be used on public roads is required to meet lighting and marking standards?

These requirements are crucial for ensuring the safety of both equipment operators and other drivers on the public roads.

Proper lighting and markings are essential for the safety of equipment operators and other drivers.

The reason for standard colors, placement, and types of lamps is to provide consistent information to drivers about the presence of farm vehicles and machinery on public roads, especially during low-visibility times.

These standards are part of the regulations established by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, and are meant to keep all of us safe on the road.

- Some simple things you can do to improve visibility, this is what I kinda borrowed from public safety, is chevrons tend to be an eye-catching design.

These things took me 10, 15 minutes with some spray paint and masking tape.

You know, this catches your eye with the mower, that's gonna catch your eye with your own baler compared to just the green (indistinct).

And so just anything you can do that makes you more noticeable.

I was actually talking to a gentleman from New York Farm Bureau a couple of weeks ago, and he's telling me, in New York, anything wider than 12 feet now has to have signage and flags.

Minnesota's not required it yet, but we started doing it a few years ago, and I'm noticing a lot fewer near misses than we had before, because I avoid highway 52 whenever possible, but I have to move on Minnesota 60 and 58, which are both high-traffic roads.

Once again, restating the obvious, it should be obvious that this machine is oversized, but there's a lot of less people that grew up or lived on farms on our roads, nowadays, and honestly, some of these people are pretty clueless.

One thing we started this year, too, that seems to have caught more people's attention is, instead of just the orange machinery or construction flags, we went to the orange and white checkered flags on our extremities.

They're nine bucks on Amazon, really cheap thing to catch people's attention.

Other things you can think about is lighting upgrades and additions.

A lot of specially the old farm equipment came with incandescent bulbs.

They're not really bright, they don't withstand the vibration and movement of farm machinery.

How many guys have equipment that, you know, the flashers, the stuff just quits working?

LEDs are brighter, they're much more durable, they're a sealed unit.

Beacon lights and magnetic extremity lights help make you more visible, 'cause a lot of the older equipment doesn't come with extremity lights, but I think these are like 15 or 20 bucks at Fleet Farm for running, and the batteries in them will last for days.

So we actually parked at the dealer lot one time, a week later, the thing was still blinking, so, but they're very inexpensive, helps give you, you know, I'd say makes you more visible, but also, in the event of a crash, it gives you what's called a defensible position, that you were doing what you needed to be doing.

Some other considerations, rear view cameras.

The current combine we got, when I was test driving it at the dealer's lot, I honestly almost backed over a little ATV 'cause it had such a huge blind spot, so when that thing came home, first thing went in was a rear view camera.

Another thing to consider is if you have a lot of near misses and stuff would be a dash cam, because then if something does happen, you've got some evidence to prove your side of the story, and dash cams nowadays are very inexpensive.

An emerging technology that first got pushed out for public safety and road maintenance that come available now is a, you buy a digital transmitter that goes in your machine, and it comes on when you turn on your safety lights, and it alerts cars via their in-car system that you're ahead.

- Welcome to "Farm Connections."

Tim Mack is gonna join us today as an expert in farm safety, and also an instructor, to share more about what programs are available and how we can be safe out there around our farm families.

Tim, thanks for joining us today.

- Yeah, well thanks for coming.

I got invited by Olmsted County Extension to participate in this meeting about tractor and farm safety.

My background is, I've been in production agriculture since 1975.

I've also had a 40-year career as a paramedic in EMS.

About 15 years ago, I got a grant from Minnesota Farm Bureau to develop a program to teach road safety.

We've done adult farm education, 4-H, FFA.

During that time I've also been a safety officer for an ambulance service, so I've taught emergency vehicle operations, and also, I'm certified by USDOT in what's called Traffic Incident Management, which is a 40-hour program to teach about highway safety for first responders, but a lot of it translates to farm equipment, as well.

- Wow, that's a lot of credentials, and a good background, and a good base to help us learn more.

Tim, if somebody wants to connect with you or the organizations you mentioned to get more programming or to get you, is there a website, or how do we get access?

- They can get ahold of me through Goodhue County Farm Bureau, or else our farm's email is bridgeviewfarms@hcinet.net.

- Nice.

Tell me about that farm.

What do you produce?

- We are a fairly small operation, we're 320 acres.

We have beef cattle, hay, corn, soybeans, and we also do custom baling and mowing, so that's... - That's a lot.

And of course, not only do you teach safety, you live it.

What are some tips for everybody to learn more about farm safety?

- One of the ones we'll cover today in the class is to be seen and kinda stand out in traffic.

A quote that's in my presentation I read in a farm magazine years ago, is "I wanna look like a moving carnival traveling down the road," because people, there's fewer people growing up on farms, driving in the countryside, so they don't automatically recognize farm machinery, so you really wanna make sure you differentiate your equipment and stand out from other traffic, 'cause if you're driving 70 and I'm going 25, you're gaining on me in a big hurry, so we really want people to be able to recognize farm equipment early.

There's some things you can do to mark your equipment, such as chevrons, which is in our presentation.

Flags and signage aren't required in Minnesota yet, but we've used them, and we've actually had fewer near misses since we've gone to that.

There's an emerging technology that's used in public safety and now becoming available for maintenance and farm equipment that will, you put a transmitter in your tractor or combine, and when you turn your road lights on, it sends out an electronic signal to in-car systems that will say "Farm equipment ahead."

- [Dan] Fantastic.

- The disadvantage to that, right now, is it's kind of an expensive system, and some companies require a monthly subscription, 'cause we actually looked into it, and the one company, it's, like, $600 a month for a subscription, so for one or two tractors, it's really not cost effective.

If you're a bigger operator, it might.

But I think that's kind of a coming thing, because people pay so much attention to that screen inside their car.

- Good point.

You mentioned visibility.

It's not lost on me that you're very visible today.

Can you talk a little bit about that?

- Well that's what I want, I want, like, I said, I'm gonna talk about equipment standing out.

I wanna stand out.

Some of the things in my presentation I borrowed from my public safety background, and that's one of them, be visible, you know, bright colors, flags, chevrons, just things to get noticed.

- Why is that especially important in busy times and also in darkness?

- Well, it's just, like, I say, it's just hard to make out farm equipment as being different than the rest of the traffic if you're not from an ag background.

Some of the people today, when they get to the question and answer, will probably talk about, you know, having people be very upset with them for being on the road with farm machinery.

And every state has different rules, there's no national standard, but, I mean, Minnesota has basic rules for transporting ag machinery and we need to kinda, some guys do an outstanding job of that, but I've seen some people that their idea of farm safety is the tires have air in them and the hitch pin goes in, so we really need to be visible.

Last fall, at our local elevator, I saw a guy leave the elevator as it's getting dark with an old gravity box, no reflectors, no lights, no nothing.

Well, you're almost, might as well put a Hit Me sign on the back of that piece of equipment.

- Are slow-moving vehicle signs still something that farmers use?

- They should be, because under Minnesota statutes, it's actually a piece of required equipment.

It's actually, the statute says it's unlawful to sell, lease, rent, or operate, so even a dealership can't legally sell a piece of equipment that doesn't have a slow-moving vehicle emblem on it.

- And, of course, that emblem is triangle-shaped, and... - Yeah, it's been the standard since the 1960s for differentiating slow-moving equipment.

- And when we see a slow-moving vehicle sign, or we see flashing lights, or any part of a piece of equipment moving down the road, what should we do, as drivers?

- We should be slowing down, because that equipment's moving slow, a lot of it is big, wide, you either need the whole shoulder in your lane or part of the other lane.

It's difficult to see around it to pass.

When you're meeting them, you know, you wanna slow down, because if you have to take an evasive maneuver, you don't wanna be doing it at 60, 70 miles an hour.

But like I say, just give them the room.

The same thing we talk about in public safety, you need room to operate safely.

And you know, if you have breakdowns, which inevitably happen, we're gonna discuss that today, too, you know, triangles, traffic cones, what we call in public safety, a blocking vehicle, so if you're changing a tire on the wagon on the road, you wanna have a vehicle back behind you, hopefully with flashers or lights, to kinda slow traffic down.

During normal transport, we honestly don't always encourage a trailing vehicle, because in slow or stopped traffic, that's a very deadly place to be.

Having your trailing equipment really well lit or marked is probably safer.

I've got a couple of slides, one of them shows a MnDOT truck, so it just, like I say, the deadliest place to be in stopped or slow traffic is the back of the line.

I actually made a joke one time that I'm not sure how well it was received, but I said, "Put your least favorite employee or family member in the trailing vehicle (chuckles) if you're in really heavy traffic."

- It probably helped get the message across.

- Yeah (chuckles).

- Tim, I hate to ask it, but I think it bears knowing.

You were an EMT, you had some calls that weren't very fun to take.

What happens out there when there's a collision or when there's an accident?

- It's really a multi... I mean, it affects the person who was killed or injured and their family, it honestly affects the equipment operator because if you were involved in a fatal or serious crash that maybe you could have done something to promote, it kind of affects you psychologically, and it really bears heavily on first responders, especially in our small communities.

A lot of these victims and patients are known to the first responders.

- It's a huge loss.

- Yeah.

- The vehicles are big and they can't always see the cars behind, or around, or in front of them, so everybody should slow down, but also, when those big vehicles are turning, give them space, but we don't always know when they're turning, right?

- No.

I mean, a lot of the newer equipment has turn signals on it, but some people don't pay attention to them.

I actually was almost hit turning into a neighbor's driveway, one time, I had turn signals on, I had my flashers on, and somebody decided to pass me on the left as I'm making a turn.

- Scary - So really, really, don't assume that other traffic is gonna yield to you or slow down when you're turning.

You really have to minimize your distractions when you're driving, 'cause if you're going down the road at 25 miles an hour, it's tempting to pull your phone out and start checking stuff, or fiddle around, but moving large, slow equipment on the highway really needs to have your attentions focused on what you're doing.

- Really great advice, Tim, and thank you so much for the program today, - Yes.

- and the work you're doing.

- Thank you.

- That does it for now.

I'm Dan Hoffman.

Thanks for joining us here on "Farm Connections."

(lively music) (lively music continues) (lively music continues) (lively music continues) (lively music continues) (lively music continues) - [Announcer] "Farm Connections" premier sponsor is Minnesota Corn.

- [Announcer] Programming supported by Minnesota Corn, working to identify and promote opportunities for corn growers, enhance quality of life, and help others understand the value and importance of corn production to America's economy.

- [Announcer] Additional support from the following sponsors: - [Announcer] Programming supported by R&S Grain Systems, a family-owned business, serving its customers for 50 years, with leading designs in the manufacturing of grain-handling equipment and grain storage systems.

You can call in for a quote today.

- [Announcer] Programming supported by EDP renewables North America, owner/operator of Prairie Star and Pioneer Prairie Wind Farms in Minnesota and Iowa.

EDPR wind farms and solar parks provide income to farmers and help power rural economies across the continent.

- [Announcer] Mower County Farm Bureau Association, a KSMQ broadcast sponsor, advocates for agriculture based on the policies and beliefs of its members.

It's dedicated to making the voices of its members stronger.

You can learn more about membership benefits at FBMN.org - [Announcer] Program supported by employee-owned AgVantage software, Rochester, Minnesota, celebrating their 50th year designing and developing agribusiness software for grain elevators, feed manufacturers, producers, fertilizer and chemical dealers, co-ops, seed companies, and fuel distributors.

(chiming music)