Sector summary

Farming operations can be described as primarily the production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of agricultural commodities and any practices performed as an integral part of a farming operation.

The Occupational health and safety Act (OHSA) applies to farming operations, subject to certain limitations and conditions as outlined in section 1 of the Farming Operations Regulation (O. Reg. 414/05).

Generally, the OHSA and applicable regulations apply to a farming operation where there are paid workers. For example, where there is a paid worker at a farm, even for a short time, the employer and all other workplace parties (e.g., supervisors, suppliers and workers) at that farming operation must comply with all applicable requirements of the OHSA and regulations. This includes workers who are residents of Canada and workers employed in Ontario through one of the federal government’s Temporary Foreign Worker Programs (TFWP) such as the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP).

The OHSA does not apply to a farming operation operated by a self-employed person without paid workers. For further information, please refer to the Ministry of Labour webpages on Farming Operations | Agriculture.

With respect to joint health and safety committees (JHSC), the Farming Operations Regulation (O. Reg. 414/05), states that despite Section 1, subsection 9(2) of the OHSA, the requirement for a JHSC applies only to farming operations where 20 or more workers are regularly employed and have duties that include performing work related to one or more of the operations specified in subsection 2 of the regulation, which are:

  • mushroom farming
  • greenhouse farming
  • dairy farming
  • hog farming
  • cattle farming
  • poultry farming.

Please refer to O. Reg. 414/05 for further details and application of the regulation in farming operations.

The following regulations made under theOccupational health and safety Act (OHSA) apply to farming operations where the OHSA applies:

Key hazards

  • The following list represents hazards to which workers are commonly exposed in the farming operations sector:
  • activities that may lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
  • machine (and powered equipment) hazards such as improper lock-out and unguarded equipment
  • material handling hazards (such as workers being struck by objects, caught or crushed between objects)
  • slips, trips and falls
  • exposures (such as chemicals, fumes and environmental conditions)
  • noise
  • confined spaces (oxygen deficient atmospheres)
  • fire and explosion
  • tip/roll-over of farm equipment.

In general, hazards that are not covered by a regulation and hazards in workplaces not covered by a sector-specific regulation are addressed through the application of the general duty clause 25 (2)(h) of theOHSA.

Employers on a farming operation should be aware that in situations where construction work is undertaken, the Construction Projects Regulation (O. Reg. 213/91) may apply (e.g., building a barn on the farm); and where an industrial establishment is present, the Regulation for Industrial Establishments (Regulation 851) may apply (e.g., processing of crops in a plant on the farm).

Workplace parties should refer to the narrative portion of the field visit report, if they have received one, for further information or contact their health and safety association for guidance.
In addition to any other hazards which may be present in a workplace, all employers covered by the OHSA must comply with the requirements for workplace violence and harassment. The act sets out requirements for workplace violence and harassment in sections 32.0.1 to 32.0.8. Further information regarding the requirements related to workplace violence can be found in the Ministry of Labour (MOL) guide Workplace violence and harassment: Understanding the law.

Additional information, including more information about new workplace harassment provisions, can be found on the MOL topic webpages for Workplace Violence and Workplace Harassment. Employers may wish to consider the use of the ministry’s Code of Practice to Address Workplace Harassment under the OHSA.

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)

Workplace pains and strains can be serious and disabling for workers, causing pain and suffering ranging from discomfort to severe disability.

MSD is not a medical diagnosis; it is an umbrella term for a group of injuries. Some of these injuries include: back pain (low back strain, etc.), muscle strain, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), rotator cuff syndrome, tennis elbow and shoulder pain.

  • Identify and assess job-related MSD risk factors (i.e. identify tasks and activities involving manual material handling, use of ladders, static or repetitive movements etc.).
  • Review training on job-specific MSD risk factors.
  • Assess controls to reduce worker exposure to MSDs.
  • Contact your health and safety association for guidance in assessments and prevention of MSDs.

Machine hazards

Machine or transmission start-up (improper lockout)

Injuries caused by accidental machine start-up can include lacerations, crushing and amputations. In some circumstances these injuries can cause permanent disability or death.

The Regulation for Industrial Establishments (Regulation 851) applies to many workplaces, and sets out requirements for worker protection against machine start-up in sections 75 and 76.

  • Review the requirements related to repair/maintenance of machinery [section 75].
  • Ensure requirement/compliance with lockout procedures [sections 75 and 76].
  •  Ensure that instruction and information is provided to a worker on the hazard and the requirements to isolate and lockout hazardous energy [OHSA clauses 25(2)(a) and 25(2)(d)].

Unguarded equipment and entanglement hazards

Injuries to workers can include lacerations, amputations, crush by entanglement and loss of consciousness. Serious injuries can lead to permanent disability or death.

Farm equipment may include any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform a variety of tasks. Examples of farm equipment include balers, conveyors, manure spreaders, bale choppers, mowers, shredders, harvesters, grinders, blowers, power washers and augers.

The OHSA requires the employer to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker. In most circumstances, the most reasonable precaution would be to provide a guard or other device, or a physical barrier to prevent worker access to moving parts such as roller shafts or to the moving machines.

Other hazards due to unguarded equipment include worker exposure to pinch points, moving (rotating) equipment and in-running nip hazards. Equipment that has exposed moving parts such as cutting operations, conveyors, augers, equipment using power take-off (PTO) and exposed drive-motor assemblies used to power compressors and/or ventilation fans will endanger a worker. Regulation 851 applies to many workplaces and sets out requirements for guarding of equipment in sections 24, 25, 26, 28, 31 and 32.

Material handling hazards: struck by objects, caught between or crushed by objects

Injuries associated with material handling can include workers being struck by objects, caught between objects and/or crushed by mechanical compression. Manual material handling may also lead to MSD.

Where applicable, Regulation 851 sets out requirements for material handling in sections, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 and 50. Section 51 contains requirements regarding mechanical lifting devices.

  • Review operations/processes involving the movement of raw material and product from receiving area to production line and from production line to shipping area.
  • Review operations/processes involving assembly line or similar style of raw material or product movement [clause 45(a)].
  • Review warehousing/storage operations [clause 45(b)].
  • Ensure that mechanical lifting devices are maintained in good condition, are operated by a competent person and are capable of handling loads [section 51].
  • Injuries associated with handling large animals and other farm equipment may be included when workers are being struck by, caught between and/or crushed by objects.
  • Employers have a duty under OHSA clause 25(2)(h) to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker. This may include procedures to protect workers from hazards in farm environments.
  • The employer must provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker handling large farm animals and must ensure that the worker is competent to do so safely.
  • A worker coming into contact with an animal should wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for the assigned work.
  • A worker coming into contact with an animal should be made aware of any transmissible diseases that the animal may carry and should be instructed on how to prevent transmission, to themselves and to other animals.
  • An employer should ensure that workers know how to safely separate themselves from an animal while working in an enclosure occupied by animals.

Slips, trips and falls

Slips, trips and falls hazards include hazards that result in workers falling onto the same surface or falling from a height.

Injuries to workers can include fractures, lacerations and loss of consciousness. In extreme circumstances injuries caused from a fall can lead to permanent disability or death.

Where it applies, Regulation 851 sets out a number of requirements for worker protection against slips, trips and falls, including sections 11, 13, 14, 73 and 85.

  • Floors and other surfaces used by workers must be free of obstructions, hazards, accumulations of ice and snow and not have a slippery surface [section 11].
  • Where work requires manual material handling over uneven working surfaces such as loading docks, platforms and mezzanines, review compliance with sections 11, 13 and 14.
  • Review personal protective equipment required when working from heights [section 85].
  • Ensure that training is provided to a worker on the use of fall arrest equipment [section 79].
  • In areas requiring ladder access, review compliance with section 73.
  • Ensure that instruction and information is provided to a worker on the hazards associated with working from heights [OHSA clauses 25(2)(a) and 25(2)(d)].

Exposures

Chemical exposures

Chemicals can present hazards to workers by a variety of different mechanisms such as causing chemical burns to skin, irritation to eyes and airways and by absorption or ingestion into the body.

  • Review the use of chemicals used in the workplace such as products used for cleaning and maintenance or other purposes.
  • The employer should carry out an assessment of the workplace and determine the risk that workers will be exposed to hazardous biological, chemical or physical agents and develop a plan for controlling worker exposure.
  • Provide information, instruction and supervision to workers exposed to hazardous biological, chemical or physical agents.
  • Where workers are exposed to hazardous biological, chemical or physical agents, and it is not possible to control exposure by means such as substituting a safer material, or re-designing the work process, the employer and supervisor should ensure the use of appropriate personal protective equipment. For chemical agents, the protective equipment required will generally be identified on either the product label or safety data sheet, where available.
  • The employer should instruct workers on safe handling procedures and proper personal hygiene techniques to minimize contact with chemical or biological hazards.
  • Employers have a duty under OHSA clause 25(2)(h) to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.
  • Where it applies, ensure that the requirements outlined in the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) Regulation (Regulation 860) are followed.

General workplace environment

Workplace hazards related to the general workplace environment may include exposure to fumes and other contaminants related to poor or inadequate ventilation. Exposure to cold or heat may also be a hazard to worker health and safety.

  • Ensure workplace ventilation is adequate.
  • Working where it is hot or cold puts stress on the body. When heat or cold is combined with other stresses such as hard physical work, loss of fluids, fatigue or some pre-existing medical conditions, it may lead to heat- or cold-related illness, disability and even death.
  • Employers have a duty under OHSA clause 25(2)(h) to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.

Noise

Injuries to workers can include varying degrees of noise-induced hearing loss.

The Noise Regulation (O. Reg. 381/15) sets out workplace requirements regarding noise.

  • Review the engineering controls and administrative (work practices) controls in place to reduce noise levels and exposures (mufflers on air exhausts, mechanical damping, vibration isolators, enclosures, and limiting worker’s exposure time) [subsection 2(2)].
  • Review the availability and use of hearing protection [subsection 2(6)].
  • Ensure that the hearing protective devices provided are adequate [subsection 4(1)].
  • Place warning signs at approaches to noisy areas [subsection 2(7)].
  • Ensure that workers are properly trained [section 3].
  • Personal protective equipment (PPE) is to be used only as a last resort. Engineering controls and work practices must be used where practicable [subsection 2(5)].

Fire and Explosion

Flammable liquids

Injuries from fire and/or explosion can include burns, lacerations, fractures and loss of consciousness. Serious injuries can lead to permanent disability or death.

  • Ensure the safe use and storage of flammable liquids.
  • Review requirements for flammable liquids in Regulation 851 such as the requirements for:
    • grounding and bonding [clause 22(4)(b)].
    • proper storage of flammable liquids [clause 22(2)(d)].
    • ventilation and work area protection [clause 22(4)(a) and section 63].
  • Review the requirements outlined in the WHMIS Regulation.

Confined space

A confined space means a fully or partially enclosed space that is not both designed and constructed for continuous human occupancy, and in which atmospheric hazards may occur because of its construction, location or contents or because of work that is done in it.

  • There are many examples of potentially dangerous confined spaces on a farm, including silos, grain bins, manure pits and spreaders, mixing or holding tanks, cisterns, valve pits and pump houses. Farmers and workers who enter a confined space, and those who attempt a rescue in an emergency, could quickly be overcome by a hazardous atmosphere, resulting in injury or death.

Where the Regulation for Confined Spaces (O. Reg. 632/05) applies, it sets out workplace requirements regarding confined spaces.

  • Review work locations that meet the definition of confined space.
  • Ensure compliance with the requirement to have a program in place for confined spaces [section 5].
  • Ensure compliance with the requirement to have adequate assessments of confined spaces carried out [section 6].
  • Ensure compliance with requirement to have an adequate plan developed and implemented for confined space entry [section 7].
  • Review compliance with requirement for worker training [section 9].

Please refer to Atmospheric Hazards Associated with Oxygen-Limited Structures (Silos) on Farms for more information.

Tip/roll-over of farming equipment

  • Serious, sometimes fatal, operator injuries are associated with using farming equipment without roll-over protection.
  • Employers have a duty under OHSA clause 25(2)(h) to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker. This may include developing procedures to protect workers in rollover of equipment such as farming equipment.

Trends

Table 1: Fatalities and critical injuries in farming operations by fiscal year
Events2012-132013-142014-152015-162016-17
Fatalities15521
Critical injuries48445
  • Only critical injury events reported to the ministry are included here.
  • This represents data that was reported to the ministry and may not represent what actually occurred at the workplace.
  • The critical injury numbers represent critical injuries reported to the ministry and not necessarily critical injuries as defined by the Occupational health and safety Act.
  • Non-workers who are critically injured may also be included in the ministry’s data.
  • The Ministry of Labour tracks and reports fatalities at workplaces covered by the OHSA. This excludes death from natural causes, death of non-workers at a workplace, suicides, death as a result of a criminal act or traffic accident (unless the OHSA is also implicated) and death from occupational exposures that occurred many years ago.
  • Data is subject to change because of inspectors’ updates to the database.
Table 2: Events and activities in farming operations by fiscal year
Events and activities2012-132013-142014-152015-162016-17
Field visits173165189154179
Orders231165188182237
Complaints3326303055
Work refusals00000

Most frequent orders issued under the OHSA

From April 1, 2016, to March 31, 2017, the most common orders issued by the Ministry of Labour under the OHSA were:

  • An employer shall, take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker [clause 25(2)(h)].
  • An employer shall ensure that, the equipment, materials and protective devices provided by the employer are maintained in good condition [clause 25(1)(b)].
  • An employer shall provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect the health or safety of the worker [clause 25(2)(a)].
  • Unless otherwise required by the regulations or by an order of an inspector, a health and safety representative shall inspect the physical condition of the workplace at least once a month. [subsection 8(6)].

Applicable regulations

In addition to the Occupational health and safety Act, there are a number of regulations made under the act which may apply depending on circumstances found at the workplace.

Regulation for Construction Projects

Employers should be aware that in situations where construction work is undertaken, the Construction Projects Regulation O. Reg. 213/91 may apply.

Construction work can be described as new work, additions, alterations or maintenance and repairs. The Occupational health and safety Act defines construction as including erection, alteration, repair, dismantling, demolition, structural maintenance, painting, land clearing, earth moving, grading, excavating, trenching, digging, boring, drilling, blasting, or concreting, the installation of any machinery or plant and any work or undertaking in connection with a project but does not include any work or undertaking underground in a mine.

General resources

Publications | Ministry of Labour

For information and Guides, Fact Sheets, Information Bulletins, Guidelines, Alerts, Engineering Data Sheets, Extracts, Reports, Consultations, Codes, and Standards.

Videos and photos | Ministry of Labour

To view Ministry of Labour videos and photos.

Health and Safety Partners

To learn about sector-assigned health and safety associations.

By the numbers: WSIB statistical report

To review Workplace safety and insurance board (WSIB) injury experience data.