Electricity is just as important on the farm as in the office today, but presents more potential hazards for the farmer or rancher than for the computer operator. Every year, serious accidents involving electricity occur on American farms. Most could be prevented with a few simple safety steps.

First, make sure that you, your family and your farm workers know the location of overhead power lines, and map out ways to avoid them when moving equipment. Make sure everyone understands that any contact with these lines creates a path to the ground for electricity and carries the potential for a serious, even fatal, accident.

Everyone should know the height of all your farm equipment and how high those power lines are to prevent accidental contact. A good rule of thumb is to stay at least 10 feet away from power lines.

Be extra-careful when moving irrigation pipes. Many electrical accidents on farms occur when irrigation pipes are accidentally raised into power lines. The combination can be deadly.

Avoid moving large equipment alone. Have someone watch out for you as you drive equipment to ensure that you stay clear of the power lines.

These rules also apply to guy wires, which support power line poles. Damaging guy wires can weaken the poles and even cause them to topple, bringing live power lines down onto the ground and creating an extremely hazardous situation.

USE CAUTION WHEN TRIMMING TREES
Sprawling tree limbs look beautiful when in bloom, but what's hiding between those branches? If it's an electric line, call Cotton and have that tree trimmed.

When your tree touches-or comes close to touching-an overhead electric wire, four things can happen: Children climbing that tree can get shocked or killed; the branch can break from the weight of snow or ice and fall on the wire, causing a power outage; the wind can whip the limb into the line and break one or both; or a branch can merely brush against an energized wire and catch on fire.

Cotton Electric Cooperative employs workers who are trained to trim trees so their limbs are a safe distance from overhead power lines. Even if the tree looks beautiful when it's as high as the wires, it can cause a hazard for you and your neighbors and is likely to leave you without power again and again.

Utility workers urge homeowners to leave the trimming to professionals when branches are within 10 feet of a power line. They're trained to know which direction the pieces will fall-unlike the homeowner whose cut might land a branch on top of a live wire.

Some tips from Cotton Electric:

• Look up when planting trees. If you see an overhead line, don't plant a tree-even a small one-underneath.
• Ask your nursery how tall your baby tree will grow once it's mature. If it is expected to reach within 10 feet of the power lines, plant it somewhere else.
• Find out how sprawling the tree's branches will be at maturity. A tree planted 10 feet away from an electric line can still interfere with the wire if its branches spread.
• When trimming trees and shrubbery on your own, look up. Be careful not to let ladders or trimmers touch overhead wires.
• Don't plant anything within three feet of your electric meter. The device should be accessible to meter readers.
• If your electric lines are underground, be sure to call your rural electric cooperative before you do any digging.
• When trimming trees and shrubbery on your own, look up. Be careful not to let ladders or trimmers touch overhead wires.