Agriculture
Farm & Ranch Safety
Farm and ranch work puts tall equipment close to overhead lines every day. Planting, spraying, harvest and moving grain equipment are all times to slow down and look up.
Equipment hit a line?
Stay in the cab
Call 911 and McKenzie Electric, and warn others to stay back. Only leave if there is a fire.
Call 701-444-9288 or 800-584-9239 after hours.
- Look up and plan
- Grain bins and augers
- Equipment contact
- Farm buildings and livestock
- Digging on the farm
Look up and live
Look Up and Plan Ahead
Many farm contacts happen in familiar places, like a field entrance or near the bins, where it is easy to forget the lines overhead. A few minutes of planning before the season can prevent a tragedy.
- Survey your fields, yards and routes for overhead lines, poles and guy wires before each season.
- Know the full height of your equipment, including antennas, GPS receivers and extensions.
- Keep equipment at least 10 feet away from lines in every direction.
- Use a spotter when moving tall equipment near lines. Spotters should stay clear of the machine.
- Lower augers, elevators, booms and truck beds before moving them.
- Take extra care folding and unfolding planters, sprayers and cultivators.
- Never try to raise or move a power line to clear a path.
Grain handling
Grain Bins and Augers
Portable augers and grain elevators are among the tallest equipment on a farm. Bins should never be placed where filling equipment could reach overhead lines.
The National Electrical Safety Code requires power lines to be at least 18 feet above the highest point on any grain bin that is filled with portable equipment. Talk to McKenzie Electric before you build or move a bin.
- Lower portable augers before moving them, even a short distance.
- Never use metal poles to break up bridged grain near lines.
- Have a qualified electrician service grain dryers and bin electrical systems.
- Plan new bin sites with plenty of room from overhead lines.
Emergency
If equipment contacts a power line
The ground around the equipment can be energized. The safest place is usually in the cab.
- Stay on the equipment and call 911 and McKenzie Electric.
- Warn others to stay back, including anyone trying to help.
- Do not get off until our crews say it is safe.
- If there is a fire, jump clear with your feet together without touching the equipment and the ground at the same time.
- Shuffle or hop away with your feet together, and never go back to the equipment.
Around the farmstead
Farm Buildings and Livestock
Shops and barns
Dust, moisture and rodents are hard on wiring. Have a qualified electrician inspect wiring in shops, barns and outbuildings, and replace damaged boxes and fixtures.
Waterers and tank heaters
Use cords and heaters rated for outdoor and agricultural use, check them often for damage and protect outlets near water with GFCIs.
Electric fences
Use a listed fence charger and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Never connect a fence or charger to a utility pole or power line.
Look down
Digging on the Farm
Fence posts, tiling, trenching and water lines can all strike buried power lines. Contact 811 at least 48 hours before you dig so underground lines can be marked.
Report outages, downed lines or hazards
Call McKenzie Electric Cooperative. Crews are on call 24/7.