Family Friendly Farms

I’m not a farmer nor do I profess to have much knowledge about farms.  But as a Pastor I do know about families.   I do know that families and farms go together and that a farm is a great place to raise a family.  

A farm can also be a dangerous place for a family.  There is risk created by heavy equipment, augers, and large animals just to name a few.  Unfortunately accidents do happen on farms, and when it’s the family running the farm, the family is personally affected. 

I learned this on May 23, 2009.   On that day, the phone rang and on the other end a weak voice said,  “Can you come to the farm, there was an accident and Scott has been killed.”   Fifteen minutes later, I turned into the farmyard and saw the ambulance, yellow police tape circling the accident scene and a devastated farm family.   

What happened?  It was harvest time and Scott was packing silage.  The job was almost finished.  The bunker was just full, there was maybe a few more minutes needed on the pile.  When Scott was backing up, the tractor’s back wheel rode over the edge of the concrete bunker wall, causing the tractor to tumble down the side of the bunker to the ground.  It landed on its side.  Scott was underneath the back tire.   He was 18. 

He died instantly and in that moment a farm family was forever changed.  The farm, on that day, was not a safe place for the family.  

There was a display of compassion and concern that followed from neighbors, family, friends and church members. There were around 1300 people at Scott’s celebration of life service.  People volunteered to milk and help on the farm.  Even today, over a year later, people still stop at the farm and visit knowing how much it means to the family.  The family is doing as good as can be expected considering their enormous loss. 

Recently I happened to be on the farm when Scott’s dad was packing silage.  He invited me into the cab of the tractor and before he put it in gear he made extra effort to make sure the door was shut tight.   As he worked the bunker, he talked about safety and farm practices.  He is a grandfather now with 3 grandkids all under 1 year old.  Family and farm safety has deep meaning to him not just for his family but his thoughts go to other farm families as well.  “I wonder how other farm families are doing during harvest. Harvest time is busy and safety is too often second place to getting the job done,” he said with concern.

When I drive by farms now I find myself looking for the bunkers and I’m prompted to say a prayer for the farm workers.  I drove by a farm recently and got a horrible cringing feeling when I saw a concrete bunker filled to the very top with the top crest much higher than the concrete sidewalls. 

My request to the farm community is, “Please do everything you can to make farms a good place for families – even during harvest.” 

(If you have changed any farm practices to increase safety since Scott’s death, we want to hear from you.  Contact Pastor Mike VanderKwaak mikevkshema@yahoo.com)