Make Safety the First Part of Your Plan You’ve developed a robust business plan that lays out a successful future for your farm, your cooperative or business. You’ve made sure you have the right equipment to do the job effi ciently and economically. You’ve sought the best in technical expertise, products and other tools. Yet despite all this planning, the most important key to your future can be gone in an instant if you fail to put safety fi rst — for you and those around you. Early in my career, I experienced the tragic accidental deaths of two coworkers. I witnessed the tremendous grief and irrevocably changed lives that resulted. There’s no question that the most important responsibility we have to our families, to our employees and coworkers, to our communities and to ourselves is to ensure everyone returns home safe and sound each day. We take safety very seriously at CHS. With more than 500 locations in the U.S. and around the world, 10,000 employees and core businesses with inherent risks, it’s essential that we not only meet our regulatory responsibilities, but also maintain an unwavering commitment to reducing and eliminating risk. In the past year, we’ve boosted our safety commitment and made building employee awareness an even greater priority. As part of The Safety Zone program, we strive to start every employee meeting with a safety moment. And each month, we share critical messages about vehicle safety, avoiding falls, proper product handling and more with our employees, including mailing postcards to their homes for sharing with family members. And safety training is a regular event. But our commitment to safety doesn’t stop with CHS employees. We have a long history of supporting programs that promote rural safety, contributing $750,000 to 55 organizations for that purpose over the past three years. On a local level, CHS businesses provide training for emergency responders, support safety camps and donate equipment such as grain rescue tubes. CHS leaders have carried our safety message to the energy and grain industries via trade associations over the last year. And this month, I am honored to be the keynote speaker at the North American Agricultural Safety Summit, where the focus Carl Casale, president and CEO, CHS will be on how our industry can feed the more than 9 billion people projected to live on this planet by 2050 — and do it safely. This issue of C focuses on a producer and a member cooperative who have made strong commitments to safety. I know you will fi nd their stories informative and inspiring. As this issue goes to press, harvest is underway for producers and CHS employees in much of North America and Europe. In South America, planting has arrived. It’s a demanding time. Roadways are busy with trucks hauling grain, fertilizer and energy products, and combines and tractors are hard at work. Producers and cooperative employees are working long hours to get the job done. We’re each doing our part to help our owners grow. In agriculture and energy, we’re known for our “can-do” attitude. We go the extra mile, but we need to be smart at the same time. So please stay rested and alert. No job is worth risking your safety and that of those around you. We’ve boosted our safety commitment and made building employee awareness an even greater priority. Your CHS Connection 5
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Make Safety the First Part of Your Plan
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