PASO ROBLES — Holloway Agriculture is promoting a #BrakeForHarvest public service announcement campaign through October during the busy harvest season, warning rural drivers to use extra caution while traveling through agricultural areas where harvest machinery and crews are working.
Throughout California, August marks the start of the busy harvest season, with tomatoes, almonds, grapes, and other fruits and vegetables being harvested at all hours of the day and night.
According to the Census of Agriculture, nearly 4.5 million farm vehicles operate on U.S. farmlands, and those vehiclesare overrepresented in road crashes considering their limited miles traveled. Additionally, several studies have found the majority of farm vehicle collisions occur in the fall, with October being the peak month as harvest season accounts for nearly 40 percent of farm vehicle crashes.
“On behalf of our agriculture operations, we want to remind rural drivers to use caution when driving through harvesting regions,” Holloway wrote in a social media post kicking off the campaign. “This is a busy time of year, both with back to school and harvest season heating up, so we want to caution drivers to slow down while driving in agricultural areas, put your phones down while driving, pay extra attention when crossing intersections or busy harvest zones, and let’s keep all of our ag workers, residents, and children safe.”
The concept for the PSA campaign came about a couple seasons ago while Holloway Ag Operations Manager Alex Parsons was driving across the Central Valley en route to an orchard removal project, when he noticed heavy equipment operators having a hard time making the turn onto a ranch while residents sped past dangerously.
“Harvest is always a busy time for harvest crews and equipment,” Parsons said. “We just want to make sure everyone is driving safe with all of the dust, heavy equipment, and trailers moving in and out of operations. Agriculture brings a lot to our community, so it’s nice when our residents do their part and give harvest crews a brake this time of year.”
Holloway asks those in the agriculture industry and beyond to reshare and support the #BrakeForHarvest campaign during the harvest season running through the end of the year.
Social media followers and other ag vendors are welcome to visit brakeforharvest.com for more information and to download #BrakeForHarvest logos, example social media posts, and photos of harvest machinery moving on our local roadways. Let’s keep all of our harvest workers and drivers safe this harvest season.
Visit brakeforharvest.com for more about the #BrakeForHarvest campaign.
