Farmers support harvest season road safety

Sep 20, 2023

By Tracey Arts, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

As harvest time in Ontario ramps up at this time of year, all of us are likely to see a lot more tractors, combines, and other farm-related vehicles on our roads and highways. In fact, next to spring planting season, harvest is the busiest time of year for farmers as we travel on roadways between multiple locations.

My family and I farm in Oxford County, an area located approximately between Woodstock and London in Southwestern Ontario. It’s where a lot of corn and soybeans are grown, so we know there will be plenty of tractors, wagons and trucks on the road hauling those crops to grain elevators and on-farm storages in the coming weeks.

This makes traffic safety for both farmers and motorists absolutely essential so we can avoid accidents on our roads and highways. At the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), we’re always active at this time of year in particular to encourage drivers to be patient and alert around slow moving vehicles as well as remind farmers to be cautious and courteous when they’re taking equipment on the road.

OFA is supportive of activities that help promote the importance of road safety; it’s something we do all year long with billboard, radio, news and social media messaging. We all have families and friends we want to get home to safely.

Operating large farm equipment on the road runs a higher risk than most at any time of the year, but when roadways become busier, traffic gets heavier and the weather begins to impact visibility, it’s imperative we keep that top of mind throughout harvest season.

According to federal government data, slow moving vehicles are 3.8 to 4.8 times more likely to be involved in a fatal collision per kilometre on the road than other motor vehicles. OPP statistics show that farm slow moving vehicle injuries and fatalities are mostly related to rollovers and these generally occur while entering, exiting, or crossing roadways, veering off the shoulder and accidents involving a motor.

We recognize the high speed pace of today’s world, whether it’s commuting for work, travelling for school or running around for sports and recreational activities – and it needs to be a priority to take the extra few seconds or minutes to pass farm equipment safely. Passenger vehicles incorrectly passing farm equipment result in serious accidents or death. Shockingly, eight out of 10 accidents occur during the day and seven out of 10 occur on dry road conditions.

Motorists, here’s what you can do to prevent road accidents this harvest season:

Watch out for orange triangles on the back of farm equipment. These are slow moving vehicle signs that mean we legally can’t go faster than 40 km/hour.
Pay attention to indicator lights and remember that a gap between a slow moving vehicle and an oncoming car or truck can close very quickly.
Be patient and pass only when it’s safe. Farm equipment is much larger than it used to be, and many rural roads have narrow shoulders that often prevent farmers from pulling off to the side safely to let motorists pass.

Farmers have a vital role to play in road safety as well. This includes:

Conduct a daily 360-degree safety check of your equipment before leaving the farm.
Ensure your hitches, brakes, tires and PTOs are well-maintained and road ready.
Make sure your lights are working properly and that your slow moving vehicle sign is visible and secure.
Don’t be on your mobile device while driving. What applies in a motor vehicle applies while operating farm equipment too – distracted driving is distracted driving.

Together, we can make our roads safer, our communities stronger and support our farmers to continue providing the food, fuel, flowers and fibre we all depend on. Let’s make sure everyone returns home safe and sound this harvest season.

Source :- OFA

Video: Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Understanding how a plant responds to stress is one thing.

Using that knowledge to make better management decisions is another.

Systemic acquired resistance, or SAR, is the plant's more direct defense response. When stress or infection occurs, the plant begins signaling throughout its system and preparing defensive compounds.

But if we know that response exists, can we help prepare the plant before the stress arrives?

The answer starts with understanding what triggers the response and what the plant needs to carry it out.

The Trigger and the Fuel

Salicylic acid plays an important role in triggering the SAR pathway.

Think of it as turning the truck on.

The engine may be running, but it still needs fuel to do the work.

In this case, manganese plays an important role in supporting the enzyme systems involved in the plant's defensive response.

This makes manganese status an important part of the conversation. Whether a producer is using tissue testing, sap analysis, or simply scouting for visible deficiency symptoms, the goal is to make sure the plant has adequate manganese available.

Manganese is required in relatively small amounts, but that does not make its role small.

If the plant receives a signal to defend itself but lacks the nutrition needed to support that response, it may struggle to carry out the process efficiently.

The trigger matters.

The fuel matters too.

Prepare Before the Stress Arrives

The best time to think about stress management is before the plant is overwhelmed.

Once a crop is already struggling, management can quickly turn into a game of catch-up.

This is similar to nitrogen management. Once a plant becomes severely deficient, correcting the problem does not necessarily erase the time and yield potential already lost.

Plant defense can work the same way.

Low-rate, targeted approaches designed to support the SAR pathway may fit best ahead of an expected stress event rather than after significant damage has already occurred.

That requires producers to think about predictable stress.

We may not know exactly what the weather will do tomorrow, but we generally know summer heat is coming. We know certain field conditions increase disease pressure. We know a herbicide application can temporarily stress a crop as the plant processes the chemistry.

Even a properly timed and labeled herbicide application can create a temporary response in the plant.

That does not mean the herbicide is bad.

Weeds can create significantly more yield loss than the temporary stress caused by controlling them.

The question is not whether we should eliminate every stressor.

The question is whether we can better prepare the plant to manage necessary and predictable stress.

Not All Stress Is Bad

Stress is a normal part of plant growth.

A perfectly stress-free environment does not exist in the field.

In fact, some stress is necessary for normal plant development. A plant responds to wind, temperature, moisture, sunlight, and countless other environmental signals throughout the season.

The environment is stress.

The plant's job is to manage it.

Problems begin when the stress load becomes greater than the plant's ability to respond.

Extreme heat, drought, high salt concentrations, disease pressure, and even certain management practices can add to that load.

This is where understanding SAR becomes useful.

Instead of waiting until the plant is visibly struggling, producers can begin identifying periods when stress is likely and make management decisions around those windows.

ISR Starts With the Soil

While SAR is a more direct defense response, induced systemic resistance, or ISR, brings the conversation back to soil health.

The longevity of a farm is closely connected to the health of its soil.

Carbon plays a major role because it supports biological life within the soil. Bacteria, fungi, and other organisms interact with plant roots and influence how the plant grows, accesses nutrients, and prepares for stress.

This is why soil health cannot be reduced to one product or one application.

It is a system.

Keeping living plants in the field longer can support biological activity. Cover crops may fit some operations. Better water management can improve soil conditions.