May 19, 2008

Perfect storm: Late planting, rain and big investments

Stress can create a chain reaction and lead to less sleep, not being aware of one's surroundings and poor decision making, said Bill Field, Purdue Extension agriculture safety and health specialist.

"We're behind in all of our planting this spring and there is going to be a sudden surge of vehicles, trucks and tractors on the roads as soon as we get some dry weather," Field said. "In all that haste to try and get things planted as soon as possible, we're likely to take some chances that we might not normally take.

"It's important to look at the bigger picture and realize that every year we get our crops in, sometimes it might be later than other years, but it gets done. We just need to take the right steps and do it safely."

A recent report, compiled by Purdue's Agricultural Safety and Health Program, indicates that Indiana farm fatalities increased 3-fold from 2006 to 2007.

"We went from eight deaths to 24 deaths, which is discouraging," Field said. "But it also needs to be pointed out that the trend of incidents in the state continues to decline and we hope that the number will come back down for 2008.

"Since 1970, we've continued to see a general decline in the number of farm related deaths and 2006 was a record-setting year for Indiana - the lowest number of farm-related deaths we've ever had."

Field explained that there are hardly any consistencies from year to year in the type of incidents in which these deaths occur. They are all individual cases, he said.

"Actually we can only find one thing that consistently contributes to the increase in the number of farm-related deaths at the national level and that is ATV or all terrain vehicles," Field said. "Of those approximately 500 deaths nationally in 2007, only 67 of those are farm residents.

"It's mostly young children, ages 10 to 19, who use ATVs for recreational purposes on farmland or in rural areas."

Field and Gail Deboy, Purdue agriculture safety specialist, said that farming has never been safer.

There are fewer farmers to be injured, farm machinery is built with safety features and much of the work is highly mechanized, they said. It is still just as important, however, to take precautions and implement safety steps and procedures for everyone involved in the farm operation.

"One of those steps is to recognize that we have limitations," Field said. "We can't work 20-hour days and expect to be as productive or safe as if we had regular rest and meal times.

"As you begin to push yourself and feel stressed, be sure and set realistic expectations for your children, spouse, families and employees. Asking them to do things that you normally wouldn't increases the risk to them. And we see that in the number of incidents involving young workers or children that are put in roles that they normally don't have. Therefore, they don't have the maturity or the judgment to make good decisions and are more likely to get hurt."

Field recommends taking time while it is rainy to look over equipment and get things ready to help avoid equipment breakdowns and other problems that can occur when machinery has not been adequately maintained.

"Maybe we could look at this rainy time as a blessing to get things in good shape so that when it does dry out, we can get out and do as much work as possible without being frustrated by machine failures or other problems," he said.

The 2007 Indiana Farm Fatality Summary is available on the Indiana Rural Safety and Health Council Web site at http://cobweb.ecn.purdue.edu/~agsafety/IRSHC/
fatalitySummary.html. For questions and more information, contact Field at (765) 494-1191, field@purdue.edu or Deboy at (765) 496-2377, deboy@purdue.edu.

Writer:  Julie Douglas, (765) 496-1050, douglajk@purdue.edu

Sources: Bill Field, (765) 494-1191, field@purdue.edu

Gail Deboy, (765) 496-2377, deboy@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
Agriculture News Page

Note to journalists: Audio will be available Tuesday (May 20) by contacting Julie Douglas at (765) 496-1050, douglajk@purdue.edu

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