ER Nurse By Day, Farm Wife By Night: Radios for Farm Safety

For Katie Hammock, safety connects two very different parts of her life. As an ER nurse and dairy farmer's wife, she's seen firsthand how preparation and reliable communication can make a difference when every second counts.

Now, she's using that experience to help farming families stay connected, prepared, and safe.

Life on the Farm

Katie Hammock didn't always spend her days on the farm, but now she lives on her husband's dairy operation with their children.

"My husband is a third-generation dairy farmer. I'm an ER nurse and a farmer's wife," she said.

She grew up in Canada in what she would call, "your typical suburban town." However, after six years of marriage, she's full adjusted to life on the farm.

"It's such a beautiful life and I thoroughly enjoy living out in the middle of nowhere."

Before kids, she spent more of her free time working on the farm, but now her role as a farmer's wife has changed.

"I think it's just important to focus on being supportive and being able to be there for them when they need it. Sometimes that's a part run, sometimes that's lunch, sometimes that's just a listening ear, sometimes that's a prayer."

As a mom, her perspective on farming has changed.

"I think the thing I enjoy the most is seeing how much the kids enjoy the farm. It's so special to see the farm through their eyes. I have a 9-month old and a 3-year-old, but for the 3-year-old, just seeing the excitement he has being around his dad, his grandparents, and uncles. He's starting to be able to enjoy the lifestyle."

Advocating For Safety

Hammock has been an ER nurse for over eight years.

"You never know what's going to walk through those doors or come through those doors. Having to be prepared for the worst-case scenario and the unknown is something I enjoy. I like that I’m able to make a difference in peoples’ lives when they’re in their most vulnerable state- whether that’s because of an injury, diagnosis, or having a family member that’s in the ER.”

The drive home, back to the farm helps her reset, especially after particularly difficult days.

“Coming home to the farm is a nice change of pace. To just come back to the farm and the little bit of a slower lifestyle, be reminded of how fortunate we are that we get to live this way, and just kind of decompress is nice.”

Her work as an ER nurse has inspired her side business- speaking to farms about safety and creating farm safety kits.

Her presence on social media was born out of a desire to help farmers understand the realities of how dangerous their work can be and how to prepare for an accident/injury, combining her love for both healthcare and agriculture.

"I realized how underprepared the farming community is for an injury or serious accident that could happen at their farm. I started sharing farm safety tips- what we all should have on our farm, how to use a tourniquet, communication, and things that sometimes I think we just get so busy that we forget to talk about."

GMRS Radios for Farm Safety

Part of Hammocks' recommendations for safety on the farm includes GMRS two-way radios.

Her husband, Isaac found Midland about five years ago through Facebook, making the upgrade from CB radios.

“Midland’s GMRS radios have greatly improved everything. We went from basically only line of sight for the CBs to even in our rolling hills here in Virginia, we're good for at least 5 or 6 miles,”her husband, Isaac said.

They use the MXT500AGVP3 50-Watt MicroMobile® GMRS Two-Way Radio | AG Bundle and GXT67 GMRS 5-Watt Walkie Talkie - GXT67PRO.

With their GMRS radio range, they're able to communication across the farm from one end to another.

"It's incredible to be able to talk back and forth with everyone on the farm at once," he added," he added.

From a safety standpoint, Katie said having reliable communication is invaluable.

"Having reliable communication, especially in farmland, where cell phone service is often unreliable, is huge. There are so many times when people have fallen, been down all day, and without a way to communicate. When that happens, the injuries get worse because nobody knew they were injured."

Not to mention, GMRS two-way radios have also made it easier for each person to share how they're moving around the farm, get help quickly, adjust plans, and sometimes, even for Katie, just calling her husband in for lunch."

"Whenever I'm talking to farms about safety, communication is something I always speak about, encouraging people to make it a priority."