Agriculture ranks among the deadliest professions in the U.S., alongside industries like mining and construction. For every 100,000 people working in agriculture, fishing, and forestry, 18.6 people die every year. In contrast, that number is just 3.7 for all industries.
Still, we know even more incidents go unreported or underreported. “Fatalities are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Florence Becot during a Center for Dairy Excellence webinar.
The Penn State University professor of agricultural safety and health described that in a survey they did of over 1,000 farmers, nearly 60% said they are dealing with chronic health conditions. One-third of respondents said they have a health condition that makes it harder to work. While some of these develop unrelated to farm work, others are a direct result.
Farm injuries and deaths are serious concerns to farm business viability, creating labor challenges and causing extra expenses. Becot noted 56% of their survey participants said they were not confident they could pay for a major illness or injury without getting into debt.
Even more striking, research found that out of every 10 farms that experience a tractor overturn fatality, seven of them will go out of business in the following five years.
Prevention is the best medicine
Dairy farmers take efforts every day to prevent their animals from becoming sick or injured. We must do the same for ourselves to avoid becoming part of these statistics.
Becot provided background and best practices for the top three safety risk areas on dairy farms: animal handling, manure storage, and machinery.
Animal handling: One in six on-farm injuries involve livestock, she said. When working with cattle, remember they are color blind and have poor depth perception. Keep them calm by maintaining good lighting plus footing with sufficient traction in work areas. Additionally, utilize the animals’ flight zones and point of balance to your advantage. Work slowly, calmly, confidently, and in pairs when possible. Don’t corner a cow that’s frightened, and avoid separating out a single animal if possible, particularly around feeding time. Always plan an escape route ahead of time, but don’t turn your back on an animal that becomes aggressive.
Manure storage: Deaths from manure gases are tragic and too common in the dairy industry. The breakdown of manure is a natural process, but under the right conditions, ammonia, carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen sulfide can become concerns. Most dangerous is hydrogen sulfide, which concentrates in low-lying areas and near the ground in open air or confined spaces. It also causes problems for people downwind. At low levels, it smells of rotten eggs, but it will overcome the senses at high levels. Becot emphasized entering manure storages as little as possible, but if you must, she recommended testing it for contaminants ahead of time; some products can be dropped in without a person entering. Ventilate the area beforehand, and consider purchasing or renting personal gas monitors to wear inside, particularly to detect hydrogen sulfide. If anyone around the structure starts to feel unwell, evacuate everyone to open air at least 50 feet away. “Even if it’s just one person not feeling well, everyone should go away,” Becot advised.
Machinery: When working with equipment, be aware of pinch points (when two parts move together, with at least one moving in a circle), wrap points (any type of rotating machine component, like a power takeoff), crush points (two objects moving toward each other or one moving toward a stationary implement), and pull-in hazards (like a mower). Particularly if there are children or new employees on the farm, Becot recommended doing a machinery audit to assess these risks. Set an example of safety by keeping guards on machinery, shutting off equipment before working on it, and waiting for a tractor to be fully stopped before hitching.
