An agriculture safety expert is raising concerns about glamorizing farms as play areas after three young girls died while playing on a family farm in Alberta this week.

"Certain practices are shown and perceived as being fun when in reality they're not, and so that whole misconception about the safety of them increases," said Glen Blahey, an agricultural health and safety specialist with the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association in Winnipeg.

The three girls were playing in the back of a grain truck on their family farm Tuesday night when they were buried by canola seed.

Emergency crews tried to save 13-year-old Catie Bott and 11-year-old twins Dara and Jana Bott, but by Wednesday morning, all three had died.

Blahey said incidents like the one that killed the girls are becoming more common.

Between 1990 and 2012, there were 272 kids killed in agriculture fatalities. The majority of those children – 72 per cent – were the kids of the owner or operator of the farm.

In that time period, six children died due to asphyxia related to a grain or soil incident.

So far in 2015, there have been seven Canadians killed due to asphyxia on farms, including four children – that's according to statistics from the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association.

Blahey said the increase in asphyxia deaths on farms is due in part to the increase in grain being handled recently and because of improved reporting of incidents in the industry.

"Certainly, the first thing that went through my mind is how tragic, how difficult for the family and the community to lose three people like that," he said.

It's common for people to think of farms or harvesting areas as play areas – but they're not, Blahey said.

"Last fall, the Rick Mercer Report did a wonderful piece on harvesting, focusing on agriculture and the industry and harvesting grain. Unfortunately, the show ended with Rick Mercer and a couple of the grandchildren of the farmer hosting the show rolling around in a pile of grain," he said.

"Grain is not a play area. It's a commodity that acts like quick sand. It acts like a fluid as soon as it starts to move, and the hazards associated with being trapped in grain are very critical."

The University of Manitoba has introduced a new agriculture safety course that Blahey said is seeing a huge response, but families need to have conversations with their kids about staying safe on farms.

"It needs to be talked about at the dinner table. Kids, ask your parents how much you're worth to them. Are you worth as much to them as it costs to put a roll-bar on your tractor? Tonight, at the dinner table if every family [should ask,] 'What are we doing to protect ourselves and to protect our children and protect our neighbours?"