Don’t farm alone; let someone know where you will be and when you expect to return. Because of isolation in rural areas, response times are longer and resources can be reduced. Farmers and ranchers need to make extra preparations.
If you’re a farmer, rancher, or another agricultural worker with a disability, plan for the additional challenges of responding to an emergency.
Many accidents occur while trying to tend to animals when disaster strikes. Remember that the survival instincts of livestock can make normal handling techniques ineffective.
The accepted priority system for safety and evacuation is people first, then pets, then livestock, then property.
AgraBility may be able to connect farmers with resources and assistive technologies that are useful for emergency planning on a farm.
Checklist of Actions
- If you need assistance during an evacuation, contact and register with your local fire and police departments.
- Assemble a peer support network to assist in temporary livestock care in the case of an emergency.
- Contact your friends or family members, within 15 to 40 miles and set up a detailed plan of action.
- Have legal and adequate marking on your livestock to prove ownership.
- Practice loading your animals as a disaster drill, so you and the animals are familiar with the effort.
- Prepare a livestock disaster box with veterinarian contact information, ropes, halters, concentrated feed, medicines, copies of ownership papers, buckets or feed nets, garden hose, flashlight or lantern, blankets or tarps, portable radio and spare batteries, and livestock first aid supplies.
