[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 38 (Monday, September 21, 1998)]
[Pages 1830-1831]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7126--National Farm Safety and Health Week, 1998

September 18, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    America's agricultural industry plays an important role in our 
Nation's economy. It provides us with an ample supply of high-quality 
food and fiber and a rewarding form of employment for millions of 
Americans. However, farming and ranching remain among our Nation's most 
dangerous occupations, demanding an understanding of complex 
agricultural equipment, strict attention to detail, and careful 
performance of farm and ranch work.
    Among the most hazardous duties on farms and ranches is the 
operation of farm tractors and machinery. This work is even more 
dangerous with extra riders, and all farm equipment operators should 
avoid carrying people on their machinery who are not necessary to their 
work. Using tractors and machinery can be especially dangerous during 
planting and harvesting seasons, when farmers and ranchers must use 
public highways to gain access to production fields or to bring the 
harvested crop to market. During these times, all vehicle and equipment 
operators must exercise special caution on our roadways.
    After school, during the summer, and other times of the year when 
children have more unsupervised time, can be very hazardous to our next 
generation of farmers and ranchers. Since many agricultural operations 
are family-oriented, this work can bring younger family members into 
contact with the mechanical, chemical, and environmental hazards their 
more knowledgeable parents and older siblings face daily with 
appropriate caution. Adults should strive to set good examples for 
younger, inexperienced workers and always carefully monitor children's 
activities.
    Because of the environment they work in, agricultural workers also 
face serious health concerns. Noisy equipment and inadequate hearing 
protection frequently cause permanent hearing loss among farm and ranch 
employees, and skin cancer rates among agricultural workers are 
exceedingly high, due to long exposure to the sun and chemicals. In 
every farm environment, workers need to use protective gear to avoid 
health and safety hazards. This is not only for their personal benefit--
it also sends the right message to the young people who are the future 
agricultural workers of our Nation.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the 
Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 
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through September 26, 1998, as National Farm Safety and Health Week. I 
call upon government agencies, businesses, and professional associations 
that serve our agricultural sector to strengthen their efforts to 
promote safety and health programs among our Nation's farm and ranch 
workers. I ask agricultural workers to take advantage of the many 
diverse education and training programs and technical advancements that 
can help them avoid injury and illness. I also call upon our Nation to 
recognize Wednesday, September 23, 1998, as a day to focus on the risks 
facing young people on farms and ranches. Finally, I call upon the 
citizens of our Nation to reflect on the bounty we enjoy thanks to the 
labor and dedication of agricultural workers across our land.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day 
of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and twenty-third.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., September 22, 
1998]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
September 23.