Home / Guides / Tractor Operation & Safety

First Aid for Tractor Operators

Help is often far away from a hayfield or a back pasture. What happens in the first few minutes can matter a great deal, so a little training and a good kit are worth having.

What should your first aid plan include?

Start with a plan. Know your exact address and a good way to describe the field to a dispatcher, such as a gate, a road and a landmark. Keep a charged phone or radio with you, and tell someone where you will be working.

Take a first aid and CPR class from a recognized provider. Many extension offices and community groups offer farm-focused courses. Reading this guide is not a substitute for training.

• Know your address and field location
• Carry a charged phone or radio
• Tell someone where you are
• Take a first aid and CPR class

What goes in a farm first aid kit?

Keep one in each tractor, truck and shop. Include bandages and gauze, sterile dressings, tape, a tourniquet, trauma shears, gloves, eyewash, burn dressings, a blanket and a way to call for help. Check the kit each season and replace what you have used or what has expired.

Keep a list of emergency numbers, allergies and medical information for family and workers. Store the kit where it is easy to find and keep it clean and dry.

• Gauze, dressings and tape
• Tourniquet and shears
• Gloves and eyewash
• Burn dressings and a blanket
• Contact and medical information

How do you handle bleeding and crush injuries?

For bleeding, press firmly on the wound with a clean cloth and keep pressure on. For severe bleeding that does not stop, a tourniquet applied as you were taught may save a life. Call 911 first or have someone else do it.

For crush or entrapment injuries, shut off the machine, call 911 and do not move the person unless there is danger. Do not lift or release a heavy load without proper equipment, since this can cause further harm. Follow the dispatcher's instructions.

For choking, learn the technique you were taught in class and call 911. For a suspected neck or back injury, keep the person still unless fire or a rolling machine forces a move.

What about burns, eye injuries and fluid injection?

For a minor heat burn, cool it with clean running water, cover it loosely and get medical care if it is large or serious. Chemical burns need long flushing with water and a call to poison control. Never put ointments on a serious burn.

For an eye injury, flush with clean water and get care. Do not rub. Hydraulic fluid that has entered the skin is an emergency, even if the wound looks tiny. Go straight to the emergency room.

• Cool minor burns with water
• Flush chemicals and eyes with water
• Do not rub the eye
• Hydraulic injection means emergency care

How do you recognize and treat heat illness?

Heat illness is common on summer farm work. Signs include heavy sweating, dizziness, headache, nausea, cramps and confusion. Move the person to shade, loosen clothing, give cool water to sip and cool them with wet cloths.

If the person is confused, faints or stops sweating, call 911. That is an emergency. Prevent problems by drinking water, taking breaks, wearing light clothing and pacing the work.

Keep water, shade and a plan in the field during hot work, and check on each other. Cattle work in summer heat is especially hard on people.

What if someone is hurt in a remote field?

Call 911 and give the location. Send someone to meet the ambulance at the gate. If you have no signal, move to a spot with coverage or use a radio, and send someone for help. Do not leave the injured person alone if you can avoid it.

Keep them warm, calm and still. Note the time and what happened. Share this with emergency workers when they arrive.

• Give a clear location
• Send someone to the gate
• Keep the person warm and calm
• Note the time and the event

How do you stay ready?

Review your plan each season and with each new worker. Check kits and extinguishers. Practice shutting down machines. Post numbers in the shop and the tractor.

Ask your local fire department, EMS and extension office about classes. Farm medicine organizations also publish helpful material.

Update the kit and the phone list each spring, and add a copy of the farm map showing field names and gates, so a dispatcher or a neighbor can find you.

More in Tractor Operation & Safety

• Tractor Safety Checklist for New Operators
• ROPS and Seat Belt Use
• Preventing Tractor Rollovers
• Operating a Tractor on Slopes Safely
• Driving a Tractor on Public Roads
• Slow-Moving Vehicle Sign Rules