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7|WSPS.CA/AnnualReport Helping pork producers create healthier and safer farms Farmers are under tremendous pressure to protect the environment, the health and safety of workers and livestock, and the sustainability of their operations. For pork producers, it's even more challenging. The unique hazards and conditions that exist on pork farms can make it very difficult to find and keep employees. Dean Anderson, Strategic Advisor, Agriculture at WSPS explains, "There are a lot of things that make pork farms less attractive to employees, including the smell and noise—squealing can reach 110 decibels—so you tend to have a lot of turnover." Andrea De Groot, Managing Director of the Ontario Pork Industry Council (OPIC), and a pork farm operator herself knows this all too well. That's why she reached out to WSPS for help. In 2018, OPIC and WSPS, in collaboration with Ontario Pork and a number of community services, hosted two one-day events designed specifically to help pork farmers understand their responsibilities and equip them with the resources they need to create safer work environments. The events, held in two different locations, featured sessions on barn fire safety led by the fire department; farm safety and rural crime presented by the Ontario Provincial Police; veterinarian-led sessions on animal and people health, and a fun fire extinguisher training session. WSPS delivered a session that covered 46 different health and safety topics, including mental health. "In the past, mental health wasn't discussed because it was perceived as a weakness," says Anderson. "This is changing and farmers are starting to embrace their role in creating psychologically healthy and safe workplaces." April Eilers of Eilers Farms says she has updated her health and safety program as a result of participating in the event. "These training sessions enabled us to create a more concise and precise health and safety program. Making temporary foreign workers who are new to the country and our work environment feel welcome and safe is a huge asset to our operation. We feel a lot safer and so do our staff." Eilers wasn't the only one who felt the sessions were valuable. De Groot says their goal was to get 20 people at each event and they actually had 40 per session. "In 2019, we're hosting events in two new locations and we're hoping for 60 participants at each of them." Dean Anderson, WSPS, at Ontario Pork Industry Council Meeting, Guelph, Ontario " Our producers wanted to create safer environments, but they didn't know where to find the resources they needed. I knew WSPS would be able to provide consistent resources that could be used across the province on pork farms of all types and sizes." r

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