HealthHints

Farm Safety –
Avoiding and reducing hazards can save lives

December 2009 – Vol. 13, No. 12

Editor: Janet M. Pollard, MPH

According to the United States Department of Labor and the National Safety Council, agriculture is the most hazardous industry in the nation.1,2 Farming is one of the few industries where not only workers but also their families (who often share the work and live on the premises) are at risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries.1 There are approximately 2.2 million farms in America3 with 1.2 million farm operators, 1.2 million hired workers, 3.0 million migrant workers,4 and 1.12 million youth.5 Fatal injuries constitute a significant burden on the agricultural sector1 with 28.7 deaths per 100,000 adult workers (compared to an average rate of 3.7 deaths per 100,000 in all other industries6) and 43 deaths per 100,000 youth.5 Over 700 farmers and ranchers die in work-related accidents yearly, and an estimated 200 plus youth die while doing farm work or simply being innocent bystanders.7 An additional 120,000 agricultural workers suffer disabling injuries from work-related accidents.7 An estimated 22,648 youth are seriously injured annually.8,9 Every day, about 243 agriculture workers suffer lost-work-time injuries.6 “Farming has changed over the years, with more machinery to help with more work. Equipment is bigger, faster, and more powerful. There’s more to do, more to do it with, and less time to get the job done.10 The safety risks for children on farms today may be different from what they were when today’s adults were growing up.” With all of these changes comes a need to take a critical and vital look at keeping the work and home environment safe for old and young alike in agricultural surroundings.

Hazards & Risks: Knowing the dangers

“A hazard is anything with the potential to do harm. A risk is the likelihood of potential harm from that hazard being realized. For example, the hazard associated with power-driven agricultural machinery might be getting trapped or entangled by moving parts. The risk may be high if guards are not fitted and workers are in close proximity to the machine. If, however, the machine is properly guarded, regularly maintained, and repaired by competent staff, then the risk will be lower.”11 Farm workers – including farm families and migrant workers – are exposed to hazards such as the following: chemicals/pesticides, manure pits, cold, mud, dust, noise, electricity, ponds, falls, silos, grain bins, slips/trips, hand tools, sun/heat, highway traffic, toxic gases, lifting, tractors, livestock handling, wells, and machinery/ equipment.12 Although we can’t address all farm hazards here, we can address those largely involved in farm accidents and injuries and point you to guidelines and resources for preventing and protecting against other hazards. We’ll look most closely at the following four areas:

  • chemicals and pesticides;
  • machinery, tools, and equipment;
  • livestock; and
  • storage areas.9,13

Chemicals & Pesticides: Take precautions for safe use

“During their daily work, farm workers are often exposed to pesticides, which include substances that prevent, destroy, or repel pests. Because some pests have systems similar to the human system, some pesticides also can harm or kill humans. The term pesticide also encompasses herbicides, fungicides, and various other substances used to control pests.”6 “Farm workers frequently encounter pesticides through direct contact with the chemicals, contact with pesticide residue on treated crops or equipment, and drift of pesticides into untreated areas.”6 “Farm workers can also transport pesticides from the fields into their homes through residue on their clothing, boots, and skin. This puts the farm worker’s entire family at risk, especially because pesticide residue in the home is not degraded by the sun or rain.”6 “Studies indicate that pesticide exposure is associated with chronic health problems such as:

  • respiratory problems,
  • memory disorders,
  • dermatologic conditions,
  • cancer,
  • depression,
  • neurologic deficits,
  • miscarriages and infertility,
  • birth defects.”6

“In severe cases, pesticide exposure can lead to convulsions, coma, and death.”6

“To protect family members from take-home contamination, the following should be followed:

  • Put on clean clothes. At work, change into clean clothing and shoes before getting into the car and going home. Put dirty work clothes and shoes in a plastic bag, or leave them at work.
  • Remove shoes. If you wear work shoes home, take them off before entering the house.
  • Wash hands. Wash your hands and face at the end of a work shift and before leaving work.
  • Shower at work. Take a shower and wash your hair before leaving work if possible or as soon as you get home.
  • Doing the laundry. Wash work clothes separately from all other clothes. Empty work clothes from the plastic bag directly into the washing machine, and wash immediately. Run the empty washing machine again to rinse out contaminants.
  • Dust at home. Make sure to keep your home clean and dust-free.”14

“Growers should provide employees with the time and facilities to change clothes and wash, as is required in high-exposure lead jobs. Growers can support conscientious employees who are taking precautions and encourage lax workers to begin doing so. It is through this kind of active cooperation between workers and producers that we can both secure the benefits of pesticide use and minimize the risks associated with these chemicals.”14

We want to keep our farmers safe and remember, also, that farm safety isn’t just for farmers. Youth who live on the farm or teens who are employed with summer jobs on the farm may be unaware of hazards. People merely visiting the farm can also be at risk.9 “Locks and childproof containers are necessary when storing pesticides and chemicals. Because poisons can be ingested, inhaled, or can get into eyes or be absorbed through skin, kids should never be allowed near them. You can take another precautionary step by labeling the containers of poisonous materials with warning signs. Never keep poisonous materials in unmarked bottles – that’s a dangerous practice for kids and adults who may get the poisons confused with another substance.”15

Machinery, Tools & Equipment: Operator responsibility reduces risks

“Most farm accidents involve machinery.”16 “Tractors are the most frequent and most deadly cause of machinery injuries.”15 Other common machinery injuries include being crushed or losing limbs in equipment like combines, threshers, hay processors, and riding mowers.15 There are many different kinds of farm machinery, but they all have similar characteristics and hazards. “You can be cut, crushed, pulled in, or struck by an object thrown by these machines. They have cutting edges, gears, chains, revolving shafts, rotating blades, pinch points, and other hazards. You can also be injured if you fall while working on or near any of these machines.”17

Unfortunately, “many machinery-related accidents result from human error.”17 The operator may:

  • forget something,
  • take a shortcut or risk,
  • ignore a warning,
  • not be paying close attention to some factor,
  • forget to replace a guard that had been removed for maintenance, or
  • fail to follow safety rules.17

The good news is, this means there’s something we can do about it. Use these Machinery, Tools, & Equipment Safety Tips (PDF) to help reduce risk for injury and fatality.

Livestock: Safe animal-handling practices

Livestock hazards are two-fold. Improper or unsafe livestock handling can contribute to:

  • injury, and
  • zoonotic diseases (diseases transmitted between humans and animals18).

Whether you are a farm worker, rancher, family member, or visitor, it is important to consider animal behavior and what it means to your personal safety.18,19 “Animal-handling practices are often inherited from watching others and from our own experiences growing up on the farm. Too often, this results in unsafe animal handling and restraint practices.”18 “Individuals may work carefully around animals most of the time, but then are injured in an animal incident because of preoccupation, haste, impatience, or anger. It is during these moments that a livestock handler really needs to understand animal behavior.”18

Below are some common characteristics and instincts of animals:

  • They have strong territorial instincts.
  • They can be excited or spooked by changes in lighting or shadows.
  • They can have unpredictable behavior when separated from other animals.
  • They are frightened by sudden or loud noises.
  • Some types of livestock, such as beef cattle, swine, and dairy cattle, are colorblind and have poor depth perception. This factor causes them to be sensitive to contrasts in light, movement, and noises.
  • Cattle and horses can see everything around them except directly behind their hindquarters.19

Planning ahead, maintaining equipment, and acting appropriately based on knowledge of the above animal instincts can go a long way in reducing the risk of injury and fatality around livestock. Use these Tips for Working Safely around Livestock (PDF).

“Zoonoses are infectious diseases common to animals and humans. At least 24 of the over 150 such diseases known worldwide are occupational hazards for agricultural workers in North America. The agricultural worker’s risk of acquiring a zoonotic infection varies with the type and species of animal and the geographic location. Infectious zoonotic diseases of particular concern to livestock handlers are leptospirosis, rabies, brucellosis, salmonellosis, and ringworm.18 “A livestock producer can contract zoonotic illnesses by being bitten by the animal, handling an infected animal, or disposing of infected tissues.”18 To reduce exposure to disease, use basic hygiene and sanitation practices, which include:

  • proper hand washing with warm water and soap,15
  • prompt treatment or disposal of infected animals,
  • adequate disposal of infected tissues,
  • proper cleaning of contaminated sites, and
  • proper use of personal protective equipment (PDF).18

Storage Areas: Invisible hazards

“Confined work spaces can be very dangerous. You can be at risk of being overcome by gases when entering a confined area such as a manure pit, silo, grain bin, or other confined areas, that may not have enough ventilation. Gases that build up in manure pits and silos can quickly kill an unsuspecting worker. Workers entering grain bins while the bin is being emptied may risk being crushed or suffocated by flowing grain. Breathing moldy dusts can also cause lung damage.”20

Grain bins. “Grain entrapment is one of the least understood hazards in today’s family farm operations. Within the past three decades, more than 200 farmers or family members have died from grain suffocation in the United States…. With today’s high-capacity loading and unloading systems, people are helpless in flowing grain within seconds. Workers also may be trapped in grain when a horizontal bridge of crusted grain collapses, or in the avalanche of a vertical grain wall inside a bin.

Countless people have experienced a ‘close call,’ that is, they have found themselves either trapped in grain or swept through an outlet in flowing grain. The most common remark of survivors is that they never anticipated the tremendous force of grain.”21

Following a few rules can keep your farm family and employees safe from grain incidents. Always use Safe Practices in and around Confined Spaces (PDF).

Manure Pits. “A confined-space hazard that often claims multiple lives before anyone realizes there is a danger is manure gas. Manure pits can be oxygen-deficient, toxic, and explosive.”22 There are four gases in manure pits that are of primary concern: hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and methane gases. Use Safe Practices in and around Confined Spaces (PDF) to prevent fatalities.

Silos. Like manure pits, “methane gas, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide can also be present in unventilated grain silos…in quantities sufficient to cause asphyxiation or explosion.”23 “Silo gas is a confined hazard that is formed after chopped silage is loaded into the silo. A natural fermentation process takes place, releasing gases….These gases can kill with even minimal exposure. Farmers should make sure everyone takes the proper steps to protect themselves from silo gas”24 and uses Safe Practices in and around Confined Spaces (PDF).

Farm Safety: It involves everyone

When it comes down to it, farm safety involves everyone. Operators, employees, families, and even visitors need to be informed. Then, each individual must do their part to act safely. It’s easy for any one of us to get in a hurry and take a shortcut, forget to do something like replace a protective guard, or become frustrated with some aspect of the hard, daily work required on the farm that causes us to act unsafely. We all know it takes time to act safely – something we often feel we have so little of. Please take the time! You can begin by taking a safety audit (PDF) or using a health and safety checklist (PDF) to help you think about potential hazards that need to be addressed. Remember, “unsafe operation can cause injuries and illness. If you are unable to do the work, who will do the work? How will being short-handed affect your business? If people who work for you are injured, how does that affect your workers’ compensation insurance rates? Who covers for workers while they are gone?”25 “Better safety and health practices reduce worker fatalities, injuries, and illnesses as well as associated costs such as workers’’ compensation insurance premiums, lost production, and medical expenses. A safer and more healthful workplace improves morale and productivity.”2 Find more helpful resources on farm hazards and safety here (PDF).

This document is meant for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or other health care provider.

References:

  1. United States Department of Labor (2004). Safety and health topics: Agricultural operations [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/agriculturaloperations/index.html.
  2. United States Department of Labor (2005). How dangerous is farm work? [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/farm-facts-factsheet.
  3. United States Department of Agriculture (2009). Farms, land in farms, and livestock operations 2009 summary [online]. Retrieved November 13, 2009. From http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/FarmLandIn/FarmLandIn-02-12-2009.pdf.
  4. Virginia State University (2009). Farm Safety [online]. Retrieved October 22, 2009. From http://74.125.95.132/u/vsutrojans?q=cache:ghURKkE0zkIJ:www.vsu.edu/
    docs/bryant/farmsafetybryant.ppt+farm+safety&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&ie=UTF-8 or http://www.vsu.edu/docs/bryant/farmsafetybryant.
  5. National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety (2009). 2009 fact sheet: Childhood agricultural injuries [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://www.marshfieldclinic.org/proxy/MCRF-Centers-NFMC-NCCRAHS-ChildAgInjuryFactSheet022009.1.pdf.
  6. National Center for Farmworker Health (2009). Occupational health and safety [online]. Retrieved October 30, 2009. From http://www.ncfh.org/docs/fs-Occ%20Health.pdf.
  7. National Safety Council (2009). The plain facts…about the agricultural industry [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://www.nsc.org/resources/issues/articles/agriindustry.aspx.
  8. Farm Safety 4 Just Kids (2007). FS4JK marks two decades [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://www.fs4jk.org/FS4JKMarksTwoDecades.pdf.
  9. Nemours Foundation (2008). Farm safety: Not just for farmers [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://kidshealth.org/teen/safety/safebasics/farm_safety.html.
  10. Farm Safety 4 Just Kids (2009). Generations of safe and healthy farmers [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://www.fs4jk.org/generations.htm.
  11. International Labour Organization (2006). Tackling hazardous child labour in agriculture: Guidance on policy and practice [online]. Retrieved October 30, 3009. From http://www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/viewProduct.do?productId=2799.
  12. United States Department of Labor (2005). How dangerous is farm work? [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/farm-facts-factsheet.
  13. U.S. National Library of Medicine (2009). Farm health and safety [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/farmhealthandsafety.html.
  14. Rural Assistance Center (2008). Agricultural health and safety frequently asked questions [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://www.raconline.org/info_guides/agri_health/faq.php.
  15. Nemours Foundation (2008). Farm safety [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/home/farm_safety.html#.
  16. U.S. National Library of Medicine (2009). Farm health and safety [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/farmhealthandsafety.html.
  17. Ohio State University Extension (2008). Preventing farm machine hazards [online]. Retrieved October 22, 2009. From http://ohioline.osu.edu/aex-fact/pdf/AEX_593_08.pdf.
  18. Ohio State University Extension (2008). Working safely with livestock [online]. Retrieved October 22, 2009. From http://ohioline.osu.edu/aex-fact/AEX_990_08.pdf.
  19. National Safety Council (2009). Livestock handling [online]. Retrieved October 22, 2009. From http://www.necasag.org/pdf/Livestock_handling_updated.pdf.
  20. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (2009). Confined spaces [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/youth/agriculture/confinedspaces.html.
  21. Farm Safety 4 Just Kids (2009). Grain safety [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://www.fs4jk.org/grain_safety.htm.
  22. National Safety Council (2009). Manure pit gas hazards [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://www.necasag.org/pdf/Manure_pit_gas_hazards_updated.pdf.
  23. National Safety Council (2009). Silo gas hazards [online]. Retrieved October 21, 2009. From http://www.necasag.org/pdf/Silo_gas_hazards_updated.pdf.
  24. Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation (2009). Harvesting health: Health and safety checklist [online]. Retrieved October21, 2009. From http://www.marshfieldclinic.org/proxy/MCRF-Centers-NFMC-Resources-HH-Checklist10-09.1.pdf.

[back to top]

Last updated: 26 July, 2010

Educational programs of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age, or national origin.