Small town business owners

As a farmer, the physical demands of your work can easily result in an injury to your back and weight bearing joints. It is important to minimise the risks of suffering an injury by using proper lifting techniques and taking advantage of mechanical lifting aids whenever possible.

Follow these tips to reduce your chances of incurring a painful injury which may also affect your ability to maintain your livelihood.

Tips for Heavy Load Lifting Tasks on the Farm

The daily tasks involving lifting are almost countless when considering such common chores as lifting bags of fertiliser and chemicals, drums of fuel, bales of hay, generators, irrigation pipes and the variety of equipment that complete the essential working tools for the farm. Wherever possible use these strategies when lifting manually:

• Use wheelbarrows, conveyors or trolleys to help with the heaviest items

• Wear a back brace to provide extra support

• Repack loads where possible to make several smaller and lighter loads

• Wait and get some assistance whenever you are able

The old adage about prevention being better than cure particularly applies when approaching any lifting tasks. This is why making use of motorised support is so important. The clever invention of a light, portable crane that is easily mounted on a utility or light truck has been a wonderful boom for farmers.

Take Advantage of a Ute Crane

The hydraulic ute crane can take on a huge role as the farmer's number one assistant by taking the heavy lifting out of the daily workload.

The beauty of these valuable pieces of equipment is that they offer so many benefits for an amazingly small outlay.

• Designed to be mounted onto the back of a utility or light truck with enclosed sides, they are both compact and versatile.

• They are simply installed by bolting them onto the mounting bed on the tray of the vehicle in just a few minutes.

When they are not required and the vehicle is needed for other purposes the crane is very easily removed, folded and stored in the shed. The crane is not limited to be used on the one designated vehicle and can be easily fitted to any ute, truck or trailer.

Why Hydraulics are Important

A hydraulic model crane is an ideal choice. These cranes are extremely lightweight because they operate by using hydraulic power. This means they are able to produce a high level of energy output but only require a very small motor. Consequently, they can lift extremely heavy loads in relation to their size and weight.

There are also no chains, cams belts and other complicated mechanical components that are likely to need constant repairs. Made from structural anodised aluminium, they are corrosion resistant.

Most models are fitted with a hexagonal fixed boom which can rotate in a complete circle for complete flexibility in loading and unloading operations.

Farmers have enjoyed the benefit of ute cranes to make their lives so much easier. The versatile machines have lightened the burden of an infinite range of heavy duty agricultural tasks. Lifting and transporting farm equipment such as welding gear for repair work, moving small livestock to different paddocks, hoisting fence posts, removing fallen tree branches and elevating bales of stock feed are just a small selection of instances where the handy cranes are invaluable.

Because of its versatility, ease of use and affordability, there is every reason for today's farmer to take full advantage of this really beneficial piece of equipment. You can find hydraulic ute cranes at a company like Kevrek (Ricon) Australia Pty Ltd.

Ultimately, by taking sensible precautions whenever it is necessary to do any manual lifting and taking every opportunity to use the hydraulic ute crane, a farmer can prevent unnecessary physical injury.