How often do we hear the sayings, “better safe than sorry” or “err on the side of caution” in our daily lives? Whether it’s at home or on the ranch, both adages hold true. 

Emergencies of all scopes and sizes happen every day. Fires, employee injuries and — especially in our line of work— accidents with animals are just a few unfortunate events many beef producers deal with. However, planning ahead of time for these emergencies can mitigate losses for cattlemen and their employees. 

John Yost, assistant professor and extension educator at The Ohio State University, says when creating an emergency action plan, communication is key.

The first thing, for me, is [producers] need to put together a team. That could be their farm business team, but [it] very well may happen at the kitchen table for most family-run farms. It’s about getting everyone there so that everyone can put their heads together on what they want to safeguard against.” — John Yost

Once those decisions have been made, he says producers can start creating lists and maps and preparing for unexpected events.

Laying a foundation 

“What I recommend people do is start by getting an aerial map of the operation and detail everything on there,” Yost explains. “Whether that’s hay, equipment, or ‘we on average have 500 head of cattle here’ — just try to be really meticulous and build that list of what they have on any given day.” 

He says labeling those maps with power and water-source locations is beneficial for those unfamiliar with the operation. Note where pesticide storage areas, machine sheds, gasoline tanks, pastures, fuel tanks and other assets are located. 

“After that, I suggest they kind of build an emergency contact list, especially if it’s an operation that employs non-family members,” the professor says. “Especially in those larger operations where they may have a lot of employee turnover, it’s good to put all this on one sheet, laminate it and put it in some different parts of the facility where people can easily access it.” 

Kip Wills, senior health and safety manager at Ag Reserves/Deseret Ranches, adds that having the phone numbers for local power line providers, pipeline and energy companies, insurance agents, lawyers and other personal contacts on a separate document can be helpful. It allows those left behind to deal with emergencies efficiently. 

Wills presented “Prepare Today, Protect Tomorrow: Ranch Emergency Planning” at CattleCon 2025 in San Antonio, Texas. His suggestions for producers continue with having the right supplies ready in case disaster strikes. 

“If you’re going to crew-up and bring your neighbors in to brand, there’s nothing wrong with having an AED (automated external defibrillator) and a $250 trauma kit handy,” Wills recommends. “I suggest having some BloodStop^® and QuikClot^® trauma dressings — things to keep people going.” 

Wills explains having these supplies prepared and located relative to where you’re working if an emergency occurs is just as important as the supplies themselves. 

Planning where to go in different types of emergencies is the next tip he offers. Whether it’s deciding where to move supplies and equipment if a building is damaged by weather or having people to stay with if your house catches on fire, he says these things are important to know ahead of time. He includes making friends with your community’s volunteer fire department and local emergency response teams is a smart move. 

“Invite them out to take a look at your operation,” Wills says. “Or maybe you have a spot you want to burn some brush — they’ve got to do a lot of burning to get their annual certification for wildland.”

By reaching out to these people before an emergency happens, a personal connection can be made. Wills emphasizes getting contact information and putting names to faces in advance so the process of getting help is less chaotic. 

“You always want to know somebody before the emergency happens — that’s not the time to be knowing who someone is,” he emphasizes. “Build that trust before the emergency happens.” 

Other folks Wills recommends connecting with are your insurance agents to help manage worker’s compensation if employees are injured on the job. Having a meeting to explain how the process would work and how to stay protected are simple ways to stay prepared. For more severe injuries, preparing can become more complex. 

“There are a lot of agencies that might show up [after a significant incident], but the big one you need to understand is OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration).” 

If employees are hospitalized or suffer the loss of limbs or hearing, Wills says OSHA must be contacted right away. He mentions knowing how to work with these types of agencies in advance can make the process smoother if they’re ever needed. In another realm of the legal space, he encourages producers to think of an attorney retainer as an investment worthwhile. 

“If you don’t [have an attorney], you probably should,” he says. “There’s just too much legal stuff anymore than bite us and destroy generations of an operation really, really fast if you’re not prepared.”

Wills’ final tip he shares is to be careful when working alone. If you’re two miles from home or 200, he says someone should always know where you are. It could mean the difference between life or death. 

“I know of a farming operation where somebody dropped their cellphone in a fertilizer tank; he went in to get it and couldn’t get out,” Wills explains. “The boss didn’t know where he was. Fortunately he was a good boss. He went searching in the fertilizer tank and saved his life.”

For producers looking for other resources to use for emergency planning, Yost suggests completing general farm walk-throughs regularly with an outside consultant. This could be an insurance adjuster, local contractor or your county Extension agent. With prepared checklists, consultants can provide more attention to detail when walking through an operation with the producers.

“Do they have a freight wire on a light switch in the hay barn? Are they using an extension cord as a permanent wiring source on something where they shouldn’t be?” he asks. “Try doing annual or periodic farm inspections to try to catch the deficiencies and highlight those so they can be put on a to-do list to get things taken care of.”

Both professionals can agree that praying for the best but preparing for the worst is a sound strategy to reduce losses when emergency action planning. By understanding how to handle crises and their aftermath in advance, producers and their loved ones will be equipped to deal with challenges thrown their way. Wills sums everything up by saying, “Stay informed, stay educated, believe it could happen to you and choose safety— always.”  

Editor’s note: Megan Clark is a freelance writer from DeWitt, Iowa.