National Farm Safety And Health Week, 1998

Proclamation 7126 of September 18, 1998

National Farm Safety And Health Week, 1998

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

America's agricultural industry plays an important role
in our Nation's economy. It provides us with an ample
supply of high-quality food and fiber and a rewarding
form of employment for millions of Americans. However,
farming and ranching remain among our Nation's most
dangerous occupations, demanding an understanding of
complex agricultural equipment, strict attention to
detail, and careful performance of farm and ranch work.

Among the most hazardous duties on farms and ranches is
the operation of farm tractors and machinery. This work
is even more dangerous with extra riders, and all farm
equipment operators should avoid carrying people on
their machinery who are not necessary to their work.
Using tractors and machinery can be especially
dangerous during planting and harvesting seasons, when
farmers and ranchers must use public highways to gain
access to production fields or to bring the harvested
crop to market. During these times, all vehicle and
equipment operators must exercise special caution on
our roadways.

After school, during the summer, and other times of the
year when children have more unsupervised time, can be
very hazardous to our next generation of farmers and
ranchers. Since many agricultural operations are
family-oriented, this work can bring younger family
members into contact with the mechanical, chemical, and
environmental hazards their more knowledgeable parents
and older siblings face daily with appropriate caution.
Adults should strive to set good examples for younger,
inexperienced workers and always carefully monitor
children's activities.

Because of the environment they work in, agricultural
workers also face serious health concerns. Noisy
equipment and inadequate hearing protection frequently
cause permanent hearing loss among farm and ranch
employees, and skin cancer rates among agricultural
workers are exceedingly high, due to long exposure to
the sun and chemicals. In every farm environment,
workers need to use protective gear to avoid health and
safety hazards. This is not only for their personal
benefit--it also sends the right message to the young
people who are the future agricultural workers of our
Nation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim September 20 through
September 26, 1998, as National Farm Safety and Health
Week. I call upon government agencies, businesses, and
professional associations that serve our agricultural
sector to strengthen their efforts to promote safety
and health programs among our Nation's farm and ranch
workers. I ask agricultural workers to take advantage
of the many diverse education and training programs and
technical advancements that can help them avoid injury
and illness. I also call upon our Nation to recognize
Wednesday, September 23, 1998, as a day to focus on the
risks facing young people on farms and ranches.
Finally, I call upon the citizens of our Nation to
reflect on the bounty we enjoy thanks to the labor and
dedication of agricultural workers across our land.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-third.