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Job Hazard Analysis for Farm Work

Job hazard analysis, often called JHA, is a method of looking at a task one step at a time to see what could go wrong and how to prevent it. It works for a simple chore or a complicated seasonal job.

What is a job hazard analysis?

A job hazard analysis is a written or spoken review of a specific job. You list the steps, identify the hazards connected with each step and decide on controls. The focus is the task itself, not the person doing it.

OSHA and other safety organizations describe this approach for many industries, and it adapts easily to agriculture. You do not need special training to start, though extension and safety professionals can help you improve.

A job hazard analysis is not a test of the worker. It is a test of the job. If a task is hard to do safely, the answer is usually to change the task.

Which jobs should you analyze first?

Start with jobs that have caused injuries or close calls, jobs that involve serious hazards, jobs that are new or have changed, and jobs that are complicated enough that a small mistake can matter. Also consider jobs that new workers will do early.

You do not need to analyze everything at once. Add a few each season.

A seasonal job that comes around once a year is a good candidate, since people have had time to forget details. Doing the analysis a few weeks before the season starts leaves time to fix what you find.

How do you carry it out?

Choose the job and invite the person who does it, along with someone who knows the hazards. Observe the job being done, or walk through it step by step. Write each step briefly, then ask what could hurt someone at that step.

Remember to include more than the main steps. Think about setup, travel to the site, weather, changes in terrain, handling materials, cleanup and shutdown.

Take notes during the observation and finish the written version soon afterward, while details are fresh. Keep the writing simple enough that a new worker can follow it.

• List the steps in the order they happen.
• For each step, ask what could go wrong and how.
• Consider the people, equipment, materials and environment.
• Decide on ways to remove, reduce or guard against each hazard.
• Write the safer procedure in clear language.

How do you choose controls?

Think first about removing the hazard or changing the work so the hazard is smaller. This might mean redesigning a layout, using a different tool, adding guarding or reducing the amount of lifting. Next think about procedures and training. Protective gear comes last, as a final layer.

Do not specify protective equipment or technical limits from memory. Use the equipment manual, the product label or an official source. For some hazards, such as stored grain, power take-off equipment, confined spaces, chemicals and electrical contact, ask OSHA, NIOSH, extension or other qualified professionals for guidance.

How do you put the results to use?

Turn the analysis into a short procedure or checklist and use it in training. Walk new workers through it at the job site. Keep it where people will see it.

Share the result with the crew and invite them to correct it. People who do the work often spot a step you missed or a better way.

Where the analysis shows a need for equipment changes or repairs, put those on your action list with dates, and do not allow the job to continue as before without a plan.

When should you review it?

Update the analysis when equipment, materials or methods change, after an incident or close call, and when new workers join with different needs. Review it at least once a year.

If someone suggests a change, test it carefully before adopting it. A shortcut that saves time may remove a safeguard.

Keep copies of the finished analyses together. Over time they become a library you can use for training and orientation.

What are common mistakes?

Making the analysis in an office without seeing the job, writing steps too broadly, treating it as paperwork and skipping the workers who do the job are the main ones. Another is writing controls like "be careful" that do not change anything.

Keep it specific, practical and tied to what happens on your farm. If you need help, ask your extension office, your state safety program or your insurance carrier.

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