In Pennsylvania alone, between 1990 and 2001, at least 480 Pennsylvania farm operators, family members, hired workers, volunteer helpers and visitors lost their lives in farm-related injury incidents. At least that many more have been permanently disabled by a nonfatal injury. The number of temporary lost-time work injuries is estimated to be about 5,900 annually. The economic toll these injuries extract from Pennsylvanians and the rural economy is estimated to be well above $153 million annually.
Preventing and controlling farm hazards and risks is a management issue and it is a priority for Penn State Cooperative Extension. Under the leadership of Dr. Dennis Murphy, professor of agricultural engineering and extension safety specialist, extension agents in rural counties across the state have taken critical steps to manage farm safety and health through a proactive stance toward the elimination, prevention and control of work-related hazards and risk. One of the key target groups is children and youth.
Karen Hack, extension agent for 4-H youth in Franklin County, said, “We offer a free eight-week farm safety program every year for 12- to 18-year-olds, as well as a Farm Safety Day every other year in August. The course is led by volunteers, including Jere Wingert, who is a farm accident survivor. We focus on tractor safety, first on the scene: how to handle an emergency, safe and proper use of equipment, machine maintenance, pesticide use and other topics.”
The program meets in the evening, and Hack said most of the parents attend the meetings with their children, so they also benefit from the information.
“Kids are more responsive to safety issues,” Murphy said “By getting the kids to think about safety, we can help them develop good safe work habits that they can carry with them through their lives.”
“In Cumberland County, a follow-up survey to a farm safety day camp indicates that the majority of the children participating spent an average of 30 to 60 minutes after the camp sharing information about safety issues with their parents. Additionally, 54 percent of the attendees have changed or plan to change a routine action to a more safe one as a result of information learned at the camp. This includes ideas such as wearing thick, tough shoes to mow the grass, taking precautions on hill areas when mowing, becoming aware of poisons and recognizing the similarity to some pills and working out a fire escape route,” Dr. Michelle S. Rodgers, regional director for the Capital Region of Cooperative Extension and Outreach, said.
It is estimated there are 1.25 million children who live on farms, and another 500,000 who work on farms. Of these, 240 to 300 are killed in accidents each year.
“Education will prevent farm accidents,” said Mary Jo Kraft, 4-H and youth development program assistant, “and we need to prevent farm accidents.”
Kraft said she and her Cooperative Extension colleagues try to take their safety information where the audience is, such as the Tractor and Steam Engine Show, Mason Dixon Fair, Old Tyme Days and Brown’s Orchard Spring Fest. In addition, they run special camps to maximize their impact.
“We try to educate farmers as to what is appropriate age-wise and size-wise especially for children,” she said. “Large animals like dairy cattle can be very docile and calm, but can become very dangerous in a split second. We also are working very hard to prevent tractor roll-overs which are the leading cause of fatalities.”
Another effective means of reaching youth is through the 4-H Tractor Club in Franklin County. Established in 1953, it has reached more than 2,000 youth and is the oldest continuous 4-H Tractor Club in Pennsylvania.
“As the land-grant institution in the state, it’s our responsibility to educate and inform the community, in this case the agricultural community, on how to have better lives free from unnecessary injury and ill-health while they’re doing their work,” Murphy said.
He has been committed to these goals for more than a quarter of a century. His Web site at http://www.abe.psu.edu/extension/agsafety provides statistics and other useful information about farm safety issues.
