The United States federal government has a special place in being able to provide advice and assistance at both the federal and local levels with a specific focus on the agricultural industry. This applies both to advice and guidance in a theoretical sense on all business activities, and in a specific sense to dedicated areas of the agricultural and livestock industry.
The agricultural safety and health centers are under the supervision of the National Institute of Safety and Health at Work. Farm health and safety is an important issue, and this government agency focuses on research and policy related to the prevention of all workplace injuries nationwide, including agriculture.
The agricultural safety and health centers take this work a step further, providing help at a more local level, although still in a very wide geographical area. Some of the centers based in Washington, California, Colorado, Texas, Kentucky, New York and Ohio.
There are also a few other centers and your work can even be outsourced later if necessary. The intent is to be able to provide more localized information and help on a geographic basis, and each center can decide specific ways to do this.
Their main role is to provide security education programmes, which take into account the broad locality in which they are located and can therefore focus on specific issues that have local influence.
They are an excellent resource because they can combine federal and local expertise and policies, geared much more specifically to the locality of an area.
The National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety is a dedicated center that, as the name implies, focuses on providing agricultural safety as it relates to children.
Unlike many other industries, the use of children and youth in farm work is still seen as a really good thing, providing valuable experience for young people in a safe environment, providing holiday work and often a style of life and community experience.
Many young people who work on farms also live there, either as part of the family that owns the farm, or as part of a family that works there.
In any case, it is recognized that there must be a special focus on how best to protect children and young people in terms of workplace safety, in ways that do not necessarily apply to other companies.
This agency oversees that and tries to develop a framework that allows children and young people to grow up and be involved in the nature of work in a safe and appropriate way.
The United States Consumer Production Safety Commission is a regulatory agency whose goal is to set standards that consumers can trust in terms of the safety of all products within the industry.
This agency tries to work closely with farmers and producers of agricultural products to achieve this. It is in everyone’s interest that consumers feel confident in the products they buy, and this can be an ongoing challenge for agriculture and the agricultural industry.
The other major government agency worth mentioning is the Environmental Protection Agency. This agency has a broad mandate to protect all areas of the environment, especially the air, water, and natural resources of the United States.
This agency is responsible for monitoring and implementing the laws and regulations that apply to pesticides and air and water pollution.
There can be heavy financial penalties if these regulations are not adhered to, and it can be a major challenge for many farms and agricultural businesses to ensure that all of their business practices conform to current legislation.
EPA should not be thought of as merely a policeman who enforces government laws.
It can also be a very effective resource for providing help and advice on what laws and regulations apply to a particular setting or area, and advising farmers on how best to meet their responsibilities.
Dealing with all types of pollution, be it airborne or waterborne, is a responsibility that everyone working in the industry has, and in an ideal world would want to fulfill.
Business pressures can often lead people to take shortcuts in the hope of getting their way. Unfortunately this does happen, although hopefully infrequently. It is important that all of these government agencies work collectively and collaboratively to support and regulate all farms and agricultural practices across the country.