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Farm Emergency Plans for Families With Kids

When something goes wrong on a farm, a plan that everyone knows saves time and reduces panic. This guide covers building and practicing one that includes your children.

Why does a farm need a written emergency plan?

Farms have hazards that most homes do not, and help may be a long way off. In an emergency, people forget details, and children may be the only ones nearby. A written plan puts the important facts where anyone can find them.

A plan also gives the family a shared language. When everyone has talked through what to do, there is less confusion and fewer risky guesses in a frightening moment.

Include a plan for livestock if you must evacuate or if a barn is not safe to enter. Ask your extension office and county emergency management for guidance.

What should the plan include?

Start with the basics: your full address, directions to each field and building, phone numbers for family members and neighbors, and the location of the nearest hospital. Add medical information such as allergies and medications.

Include a simple farm map showing buildings, bins, shutoffs for power and water, fuel storage, chemical storage and gathering places. Share a copy with your local fire department and ask them to look it over.

Make sure workers, relatives and babysitters have read the plan. A plan that lives in one person's head fails when that person is hurt.

• Farm address and field directions
• Phone numbers and a backup contact
• Map with hazards and shutoffs marked
• Medical needs of every family member

Who does what?

Decide in advance who calls 911, who meets responders at the road, and who stays with the children. Name a backup for each role. Children old enough can have jobs too, such as turning on the porch light or waiting at the end of the lane.

Children should never be assigned a rescue. Their role is to call for help, stay safe and follow an adult's instructions.

Consider language needs. Translate the plan for family members and workers who speak another language, and use pictures where helpful.

How do you plan for different emergencies?

Think through fire, severe weather, injuries, power loss, chemical spills and missing children. For each one, write a few plain steps that come from official sources such as your fire department, the American Red Cross and the National Weather Service.

Do not improvise technical steps from memory. For hazards such as grain bins, confined spaces and chemicals, the first step is always to call 911 and keep everyone away. Hands-on training from recognized sources gives families real skills.

Save a copy on your phone and keep a paper copy in the truck. Digital files are easy to lose when the power or signal is out.

How do you practice with children?

Walk through the plan on a calm day. Practice calling 911 with a toy phone, finding the meeting place and saying the address aloud. Run a fire drill at the house and let children time it.

Keep drills short and positive. Praise children for doing it right and fix the plan where it did not work. Repeat the drills every few months and whenever something on the farm changes.

Think about the people who may be on your farm and not know the plan, including hired workers, delivery drivers and neighbors helping at busy times. A short orientation on arrival makes them part of the plan.

• Dial 911 and give the address
• Practice two exits from every room
• Meet at the agreed spot
• Review the plan each season

What supplies should be on hand?

Keep first aid kits in the house, shop and vehicles, along with flashlights, a battery or crank radio, spare phone chargers, water and basic supplies. Check them regularly and replace anything expired or used.

The American Red Cross publishes preparedness checklists, and your extension office may have farm-specific ones. Use them as a starting point and adapt to your farm.

Keep your plan simple enough that a frightened child could follow the first steps. Long documents are helpful for adults, but a single page with the address, the phone numbers and the meeting place is what will actually be used.

How do you keep the plan alive?

A plan is only useful if it is current. Update it when people, animals, buildings or phone numbers change. Post it where family and workers can see it, and give copies to caregivers and hired help.

Review it with visitors who stay for a while, and share the key points with neighbors who might be the first to arrive.

Last reviewed: November 12, 2026. Written by the Farm Safety Editorial Team. See our editorial policy.