JOLIET, ILLINOIS – American Farmers are working harder than ever, and it shows.  During National Agriculture Week (March 14-20, 2004), representatives of the Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators (JULIE, Inc.) will kick-off a safety campaign stressing the importance of underground damage prevention awareness to farmers in Illinois. 

“March 20 marks the first day of spring and National Ag Day.  This is an excellent time to salute our dedicated Illinois farmers and promote American agriculture,” said Mark Frost, executive director of JULIE, Inc.  “During this time, it is also important to remind farmers to be aware of critical underground utility facilities, such as rural water, fiber optic, pipeline and high-pressure gas distribution systems, on their property. The first step when planning a digging project in rural Illinois is to call JULIE at 1-800-892-0123.” 

Utilities can be buried at various depths beneath farm fields.  While the Illinois Underground Utility Facilities Damage Prevention Act does not require a call to JULIE for routine farm tillage operations, there are farm-related projects that do require notification.  Tile plowing, building waterways and setting posts are all examples of deeper excavation projects requiring a call to JULIE.  Both the call to JULIE and service provided by JULIE’s utility members to locate and mark underground facilities are free to the excavator.

“Projects such as deep ripping and sub-soiling can create safety hazards due to the depth of the operations,” Frost continued.  “Whether you are a farmer, homeowner or professional excavator, digging without knowing where it is safe to dig can cause tremendous property and environmental damage and loss of lives.”

JULIE serves as a message handling service for underground facility owners and operators, taking information about planned excavations and distributing this information to its membership.  It is then the responsibility of each member to mark the location of their underground facilities at the excavation site.  Illinois law requires all people digging to call JULIE at least two working days prior to the start of excavation and to begin that project within 14 calendar days from the call.  The 48 hour notice does not include Saturdays, Sundays or holidays.

National Agriculture Day focuses on educating Americans about the industry, so they may also acknowledge and consider career opportunities in the agriculture, food and fiber industry.

 JULIE, Inc. is celebrating its 30^th Anniversary this year.  The organization represents 1,750 member companies and has a state-of-the-art facility located in Joliet, Illinois.  For more information about JULIE, Inc. and safe-digging practices, please visit www.illinois1call.com.