June 08, 2006

The province is investing $50,000 in a new provincial grant program to help farm families create safe play areas for children on Manitoba farms, Healthy Living Minister Theresa Oswald announced today.

"Research shows that many injuries to children living on farms take place when they are playing near a worksite," said Oswald. "We’ve developed this new grant program to help farm families build safe places for their kids to play away from work areas where kids might get hurt by machinery or animals."

The Safe Play Area Grant will provide grants of up to $500 to help qualifying farm families create secure and enclosed play areas for their children. The grants are available for family farms with at least one child under 10 years of age. To qualify, farm families must provide a detailed plan and a budget for their play area.

Currently, Manitoba Healthy Living is working with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives and Manitoba Labour and Immigration to develop and deliver other programs to help make farms safer for kids and families. Other initiatives include:

• the development of a new print resource called SafeChoices, a workbook to help farmers and small-farm business managers recognize and assess the effects of safety and health risks in their operations;

• the launch of a course for youth which will take young operators through both theory and practical exercises to expand their knowledge of the safe operation of a tractor; and

• the development of a new resource called Farm Family Walkabout, a guide to encourage farm families with young children to take a walk around the farm to identify hazards that children might encounter in their daily farm activities.

"Farms are a great place to raise a family, but it’s important to remember that farms can also have many dangers including unpredictable livestock, hazardous chemicals and powerful machinery," said Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Rosann Wowchuk. "We’re pleased to partner with Manitoba Healthy Living to make sure farm families have access to a wide range of resources to help make Manitoba farms safer for kids and adults alike."

"When I travelled the province with the all-party Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures Task Force talking to Manitobans about the health of our kids, we heard from farm families that safe play areas for kids on farms can help reduce farm-related injuries and deaths," said Oswald. "These resources will help farm families take steps to not only identify hazards, but create safe and healthy places for kids to play."

The application deadline for the grant program is July 31. More information or requests for applications are available at http://www.gov.mb.ca/healthyliving/farmsafety.html.

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