Sask. farm families react after 3 Alberta sisters die in accident

A tragedy that claimed the lives of three children last week has farm families across the province thinking about the safety of their own children.

Last week, three children died in central Alberta after they were buried under canola seed while playing on the back of a truck.

Speaking to Saskatoon Morning's Leisha Grebinski this morning, two farm families in Saskatchewan said safety concerns should always be top of mind for farm families.

"There has to be a constant thought of what's going on with the kids," said farmer Bruce Osiowy. "My wife does operate some farm equipment, chiefly the combine. When she operates the combine, our daughter is never with her."

With larger and larger machinery, Osiowy, who farms near Abernethy, says its vital to know where your children are at all times.

"We have to know what's going on," he said. "And I'm very hesitant to let my child go with anybody other than her mother or myself."

However, that doesn't necessarily happen all the time on some farms, especially during busy times like harvest.

Retired farmer Deb Teneycke said her now-grown children often went off with other people during harvest, and is now learning they weren't in the safest situations.

"I'm finding out things now that my kids did that I didn't know about," she said. "Like riding in the back of a grain truck loaded with grain. My son said it was like riding in a giant sand pit that was moving."

Ultimately, both farmers say that farm safety needs to be top of mind with people, and shouldn't be ignored.

"Maybe farmers are more aware now than they used to be, but certainly my husband, and farmers like him, that's how they grew up," said Teneycke. "They think that's normal, that's part of growing up on the farm."