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Farm Credit Canada Ag Safety Fund to soon accept applications

The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) is pleased to be partnering once again with Farm Credit Canada

Submitted

The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) is pleased to be partnering once again with Farm Credit Canada to announce the call for applications to the 2015-2016 FCC Ag Safety Fund.

The Fund, now in its fifth year, has provided over $400,000 to charitable and non-profit organizations to deliver farm safety training programs in their communities or within the agricultural sector. This year, $100,000 will be awarded to successful applicants.

“FCC supports projects and initiatives that make positive changes in the communities where our customers live and work across Canada,” said Sophie Perreault, FCC Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “By raising awareness through ongoing safety education and training, we are helping producers effectively manage those risks in their operations.”

The 2015-2016 FCC Ag Safety Fund will focus on offering grants to organizations that will deliver tractor and machinery safety training in a community setting to Canadian farmers and farm workers. According to Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting (CAIR) data, between 1990 and 2008, 70 per cent of agricultural fatalities in Canada were related to machinery, 46 per cent were caused by rollovers, runovers and entanglements.

Marcel Hacault is the Executive Director of CASA “The shift in focus of the FCC Ag Safety Fund is to address the reality that the majority of farm fatalities are related to equipment. The FCC Ag Safety Fund is an excellent opportunity to provide more machinery-related training which we hope will lead to fewer farm injuries and fatalities. Because of our partnership with FCC, CASA has been able to offer a variety of initiatives, including the FCC Ag Safety Fund and Back to Ag.”

Earlier this year, FCC donated $100,000 to the Back to Ag program aimed at helping farmers and agricultural workers return to work after a life-altering injury. The donation was a result of a social media campaign done in partnership with the Rick Hansen Foundation and CASA, which is responsible for managing the Back to Ag program.