“Complete safety is one of our primary goals at Cargill Animal Nutrition. Each teammate knows we put safety before profits to ensure we’re sending everyone home safely every day,” explains Daryn Kracht, commercial director for Cargill’s U.S. dairy feed business. “As a society, too often we wait for an accident to happen to look for improvements. This initiative was a proactive effort to discuss safety risks and address them before it’s too late.”

During a 24-hour period, more than 275 facilities across 40 countries were asked to stop operations for a two- to four-hour period so teams could walk the premises, identify safety concerns, and rally to generate a list of potential improvements. In addition, dairy field-based employees participated on calls to discuss the dangers they face in their roles, primarily driving and animal handling, and generate ideas for doing these activities more safely.

“The agriculture industry poses many safety risks,” Kracht added. “We hope this initiative will inspire others, including our customers, to be more proactive with safety on their dairy operations as well.”

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported the 2016 fatality rate for agriculture at 21.4 deaths per 100,000 workers. Transportation incidents, including tractor overturns, were the leading cause of death. As dairies across the country begin to prepare for harvest, the busiest and most dangerous time on the farm, being aware of dangers and doing proactive assessments can help everyone make it through the season safely.

For more helpful safety information and resources visit cargilldairydreams.com and click the safety tab.

About Cargill

Cargill’s 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive.

We combine 153 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture.

About Cargill Animal Nutrition

Cargill’s animal nutrition business has more than 20,000 employees at more than 275 facilities in 40 countries. Fueled by our innovation and research, we offer a range of products and services to feed manufacturers, animal producers, and feed retailers around the world, helping put food on the plates of nearly one billion people around the world every day. Cargill’s animal nutrition business offers a range of compound feed, premixes, feed additives, supply chain and risk management solutions, software tools and animal nutrition expertise that is unmatched in the industry. For more information about Cargill Animal Nutrition, visit: http://www.cargill.com/feed.