Justin Waggone, Ph.D., Beef Systems Specialist
“Agriculture and OSHA”
Agriculture is a high-risk industry, where “near misses,” accidents, and even fatalities unfortunately occur. I recently hosted and participated in a 30-hour Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) general industry course. One of the major takeaways I gained from this course was that agriculture is not exempt from OSHA regulations. Many agriculture employers (both large and small) erroneously believe they are exempt from OSHA regulations and standards. However, agriculture does fall within the scope of OSHA per the “General Duty Clause” (Section 5.a.1., OSHA 1910) which states that “Each employer shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.” I would highly encourage anyone who is not familiar with OSHA and your role and responsibilities as an employer or supervisor to take an OSHA course. There is a wealth of information and resources available online at https://www.osha.gov/.
For more information, contact Justin Waggoner at jwaggon@ksu.edu.
