Blog

At Threemile Canyon Farms, we approach safety as something that can always be improved upon and adjusted to meet the needs of ever-changing farm conditions. Farm safety is a continuous effort that involves multiple strategies and regular collaboration across departments.

“We have a lot of rolling things and operations happening, and so a lot of these things don't happen without the passion of our staff. That passion comes from feeling supported, being safe, being able to feel like there's always someone looking out for their best interest as well, which then increases our productivity,” says Threemile Zone Manager Lacy Phelps, who currently runs safety programs throughout our farm.

In addition to making sure we are following state and local guidelines, Phelps manages our safety committee. The group meets monthly to cover topics such as on-farm construction awareness, communicating awareness of hazards, machinery operation and inspection, and incident reporting.

“The philosophy in our safety culture really is safety lies in the details. We're constantly trying to make sure that we're documenting everything. We're constantly trying to make sure that we're asking the right questions when we're doing a job, like what's it going to entail? What's that going to take? Is there a way that we can approach it to do it better, more efficiently? Can that efficiency help our team to then do it more safely? Because in farming, everything's ever-changing,” says Phelps.

To support the daily safety and ongoing knowledge development of our team, we regularly host training courses and workshops, sometimes collaborating with local community organizations and agencies to make sure we are aligned with their priorities and safety standards. Recently, we welcomed the Boardman Fire Department to provide CPR and First Aid training and certification for team members.

Team safety training is always held before we start planting to refresh the team on best practices to stay safe while working, but we don’t stop there. Safety training courses are conducted throughout the year, too, with the topics covered being geared towards the time of year and associated tasks and activities.

As we dive into another busy and productive harvest season, we are reminded of importance of creating a workplace that keeps everyone happy and safe. At Threemile Canyon Farms, our top priority is ensuring a safe environment for our team members so they can return home safely to their families each day.