Every three days, a child dies in an agriculture-related incident, and ap­­proximately 33 children are ser­iously injured daily in such accidents.

“The agricultural worksite is one of the nation’s most hazardous and may include children of any age,” says Jana Davidson, program manager of the Progressive Agriculture Foundation, a program founded in 1995 that provides education, training and resources to make farm, ranch and rural life safer and healthier for children and their communities.
The foundation conducts farm safety day programs nationwide, including numerous events in Iowa. One was held in Columbus Junction Sept. 12.

Fifth graders from the Wapello Community, Columbus Junction, Morning Sun and Louisa-Muscatine schools learned about grain and power take-off (PTO) dangers, water safety, ATV/UTV safety, first aid, animal safety and lawn mower safety from volunteers at the Louisa County Fairgrounds. They were stunned upon realizing how risky working on the farm can be.

Consider their reaction when a straw dummy became purposely entangled in the PTO.

“With Louisa County being a predominantly rural county, the opportunities for our youth to be engaged in outdoor activities on farms, acreages or the river are high,” said Adair Lents, director of the Louisa County Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

“The goal is for our fifth graders to walk away with more education about how to safely engage in a variety of activities on the farm and off the farm.”


FARM SAFETY WEEK
This year’s National Farm Safety and Health Week was Sept. 15-21 and focused on preventing agricultural incidents and promoting safety.

Davidson was a guest speaker on a recent Illinois Extension farmdoc webinar, discussing farm safety for youth and measures to protect the next generation. She was joined by Salah Issa, assistant professor and extension specialist at the University of Illinois.

“Young people are uniquely vulnerable to farm hazards,” Davidson said. “Young workers in agriculture are seven to eight times more likely to be fatally injured in agriculture compared to all other industries combined, so that shows you how dangerous agriculture can be.

“And 60% of children are not working when the injury occurs, so sometimes they’re in areas where they shouldn’t be …, blind spots …, in a situation with livestock or other machinery where they shouldn’t be.”


TOP SAFETY CONCERNS
With more than 22 million people employed in agriculture-related fields and approximately 893,000 children living on U.S. farms, plus an additional 265,600 youth hired for farm work, the importance of farm safety is undeniable, said Davidson. An estimated 25 million youth visit farms through agritourism.

The leading causes of fatalities on farms include machinery, vehicles and drowning (in farm ponds or grain bins), while non-fatal injuries often result from falls, animal interactions or accidents involving machinery and vehicles.

“Vehicles make up the leading cause of injury among working youth, and livestock are the leading cause of injury for non-working youth,” Davidson explained.

Youth performing tasks beyond their developmental level can also be hazardous. “We need to make sure we’re considering that before we’re assigning some of the tasks,” Davidson said.

Issa recounted several tragic incidents. In Mount Carroll, Illinois, four boys aged 14, 14, 19 and 20 were removing crusted grain from a bin when three became entrapped. Two were engulfed and suffocated, while a third was rescued after six hours.

In Indiana, a fourth grader was playing in a pile of cornmeal and the 10-foot pile collapsed on him, Issa shared. And in Canada, three young girls were placed on a grain wagon and were sucked in, drowning in the canola.

“In the U.S. every year, we have 20 to 40 grain entrapments,” Issa said. “Historically, on average, around 70% are fatal. A significant number of incidents are occurring to youth under the age of 20, and the majority of these incidents occurring to youth are fatal.”


PROMOTING SAFETY
Davidson, who was raised on a small hobby farm, said farm life offers invaluable lessons. “No better way to gain passion for agriculture or instill that love and respect for the land and industry than if you grow up on a farm,” she said.

To enhance farm safety, families should eliminate hazards and utilize safer alternatives. Keeping children away from machinery, assigning age-appropriate tasks and using personal protective eq­­uipment are vital steps.

“It’s important to clearly distinguish between home and workplace environments on the farm,” Davidson advised. “We want to make sure that the line between the farm as a home and a workplace can be a little bit more clear.”

Create a safe play area with fencing, ground cover, age-appropriate equipment and supervision near the home and further away from workspaces, she said.

For more information about the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day Program, visit www.Progressiveag.org. For more information about National Farm Safety and Health Week, visit www.necasag.org/nationalfarmsafetyandhealthweek/.