Kids should not be taken on farm machinery at all, according to safety experts who want to keep children safe over summer.

On Saturday, June 23, a four-year-old boy was riding in a utility trailer attached to an acreage tractor before the trailer came loose and rolled back into a ditch. The boy was rushed to hospital but was later pronounced deceased.

Rob Gobeil, an agricultural health and safety specialist with the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA), says the most important thing you can do as a parent is set boundaries for your children when they are on the farm, whether it's with friends, relatives, or grandparents.

"The main thing is having some clear boundaries in place and spending some time teaching the kids what the safe areas are," said Gobeil. "As parents, we have a responsibility to keep these children away from dangerous situations."

That includes teaching them about those dangerous situations. One of those situations includes taking children or grandchildren on the farm equipment for a ride.

"Even a cab cannot guarantee the safety of a child," Gobeil said. "What we want to do is focus on prevention and keep children away from all machinery regardless of the situation."

That includes rides in machines such as tractors and combines. While there is no set age when this can change, it's recommended that they stay off until adults are convinced they are responsible enough to be near it.

Gobeil also says that it's important to establish work zones and play zones. They may even mean setting up a fence around the play area so that kids don't accidentally wander where they shouldn't be going.

"(The fence) is just an extra measure to make sure no one gets injured," Gobeil said.