There’s a lot of responsibility when you own and work on a farm. The animals need feeding, crops need tending to and your property needs daily patrolling, but there is one aspect of farming you may not have considered: practicing farm safety to avoid electrical hazards.

Consider all the areas of a farm that require a power source, and more than likely those sources come from electrical wiring, whether underground or overhead. It’s a fact that farmers encounter a variety of dangers around the farm, which is all the more reason for you to work with an electrical contractor in Anaconda, MT to stay safe all year-round. Here are some useful tips:

• Inspect electrical farm components: It’s guaranteed that there are many sources of electricity around your farm or ranch. Hopefully, you know where all these sources are located so you can periodically inspect lighting, electrical panels, power outlets and other live components. If you don’t, it may be wise to hire a property inspector to locate every single power source and to assess their condition.
• Clean electrical components: Dirty electrical components can be dangerous, as they could malfunction at the worst time. While performing your inspections, make sure to clean out and around all outlets, connections and exposed wires that are protected. Not only do environmental factors—like rain, mud, dust, wind and sun—play a role in dirtying and weakening components, but critters can also wreak havoc on such things. Remove electrical boxes and panels, inspect for pests like mice, insects and spiders, vacate critters and clean out droppings, webs and nests made of debris.
• Check all electrical panels: Before touching electrical panels, turn off the main power breaker to avoid getting shocked. Since wire connectors on heavy farm equipment, wall outlets and ground lines tend to loosen over time from use, tighten these and other connections to keep power running on your property.
• Exercise caution with outdoor lighting: Working a large farm can mean having to perform necessary duties around the clock. Whether it’s you or your employees out there at night, its important to exercise caution when working around portable lighting. Make sure that attached cords (including extension cords) are not sitting in water or in places where they are likely to get run over and severed by farm machinery. Touching wet or damaged cords with live electricity can lead to scary situations—electrocution is a very real danger in rural areas.
• Extension cord safety: Speaking of extension cords, consider installing underground or surface piping composed of a strong metal, like steel, to run cords through. Pipes offer extension cords protection from potential fraying, the elements, moving farm vehicles, curious animals and getting twisted up, and make sure temporary outdoor cords are plugged into appropriate ground outlets. Also use weather resistant tape on both ends’ connection points to stave off dirt and moisture.

Practicing farm safety—especially when it comes to avoiding electrical dangers—is key to keeping everyone on your property safe and sound 24 hours a day. At Colbert’s Electric, Inc., we will match you up with an electrical contractor in Anaconda, MT to help you with all your farm and ranch electricity services. Call us today for assistance.