Orchard Safety: Questions About Personal Protective Equipment?

However, if you are looking for options or have questions about Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), you could contact the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH). PPE can be applied across all areas of specialty crop production, whether it is spraying, harvesting or pruning.

Safety glasses should meet the 'ANSI Z87.1' standard for impact resistance so look for the Z87 marking on the lenses and frames. Another important feature is UVA and UVB protection which are helpful on sunny days in both winter and summer. NYCAMH can help you find the earmuffs with the correct noise reduction based on the job. Hearing protection equipment should protect from noises above 85 dB. As a reference, most tractors run 85 – 100 dB and chainsaws are 110 – 115 dB. Look for a noise reduction rating (NRR) of 24 or better.

Spring is a great time to replace missing or damaged PTO shields, faded SMV emblems, and improve visibility by using reflective tape. All of these items are available through NYCAMH.  Check out NYCAMH's PPE program at their website where you will find a copy of their PPE Catalog. If you are unsure what PPE is appropriate for a task, you can reference the selection guide-located in the middle of the PPE catalog as a starting point, or call NYCAMH at 800-343-7527 for further assistance.

Resource developed for bilingual orchard safety courses supported by a PDA Specialty Crop Block Grant titled "Sustainable Production, Business Management, and Farm Safety Innovations for Beginning and Minority Specialty Crop Producers."