Some nerves were calmed in New York's dairy industry when OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) announced it would only be visiting larger dairies when it begins farm inspections in July.

A large dairy, in this case, is one that has had 11 or more nonfamily employees at any point during the last 12 months. Smaller farms, even those that house employees, will not be at chance for a random inspection during the July to September 2014 time frame unless they fall under migrant worker standards.

In the past, OSHA only inspected dairy farms when an injury occurred or a complaint came in from an employee, resident or another government agency. However, in an effort to raise awareness about employee safety on dairy farms, random dairy farm inspections began in Wisconsin in 2012 under a new local emphasis program. In 2013, nine dairy cases were penalized for a total of $8,140, or $940 per case.

New York is up next for a local emphasis program by OSHA, focusing on common safety and health hazards on dairy farms. Inspections are to involve facilities where employees are engaged in the dairy farm operations, including milking parlors, dairy cattle barns, equipment shops, commodity sheds, manure storage facilities and collection structures, horizontal silos (bunkers and piles), vertical silos, and grain storage structures.

To gain more insight about OSHA dairy farm assessments, read the article, "Would your dairy pass an OSHA inspection?," that appeared in the April 10, 2011 issue Hoard's Dairyman.