William E. Field

Farm Safety Issues in Old Order Anabaptist Communities: Unique Aspects and Innovative Intervention Strategies

The Amish and other Old Order Anabaptists have been inseparably linked with agriculture since coming to America. However few efforts have been identified which analyze the issues involved with Old Order Anabaptist farm injuries or present best practices for addressing these problems. As part of an effort to develop culturally appropriate and effective injury prevention strategies for use within the Old Order Anabaptist community, this article identifies important cultural issues that should be considered in understanding and attempting to reduce farm injures in this population, summarizes statistics concerning farm-related fatalities among Old Order Anabaptists, and discusses methods which have been effectively used to address farm injuries within these communities. In the statistical analysis, 92 cases were identified that were classified as being work-related or occurring in a farm work-related setting during the period 1980 to 2000. Approximately 64% of the identified cases were children 15 years and under; and approximately 77% were male. Run-over incidents were the most frequent primary cause of the fatal injuries, while animal-related behavior was the most frequent secondary cause, reflecting agricultural practices that remain highly dependent upon the use of horses and mules. The authors believe evidence suggests that certain Old Order Anabaptist choices concerning farm safety issues may be directly related to their socio-religious beliefs, and that effective intervention strategies must also be sensitive to socio-religious beliefs.

Summary of documented fatalities in livestock manure storage and handling facilities--1975-2004.

Abstract Data were compiled and analyzed on the estimated frequency and characteristics of deaths related to on-farm manure storage and handling facilities for the period of 1975 through 2004. Sources included published government reports, national and local media, on-line searches, published farm fatality reports, and prior litigation. No prior research was identified that addressed the magnitude of the problem, nor documented evidence-based intervention strategies. Data from 77 fatalities along with 21 severe injuries and 14 international fatality cases were identified, documented and coded for analysis. Analysis of the 77 fatalities showed that victim characteristics and causative factors did not reflect previously reported patterns; i.e., over half of the fatalities involved dairy operations and 21% involved persons under the age of 16. The largest percentage (34%) of deaths occurred to persons conducting repair or maintenance activities on manure handling equipment, while the second largest group (22%) were attempting to perform a rescue of another person. The most frequently identified cause of death was asphyxiation with elevated levels of sulfide levels in the blood noted in some cases. The peak period of incidents were during the hottest part of the summer and often associated with transferring of manure for application to crop ground. Recommendations included the need to revise ASABE EP470 Manure Storage Safety Practice to include engineering controls that would reduce the need for farmers and farm workers to enter spaces containing toxic manure-related gases. In addition, the need to educate owner/operators and employees concerning the hazards associated with agricultural manure storage structures and equipment, especially those classified as permit-required confined spaces, should be considered, including the need for appropriate warnings and entry procedures. Incorporation of current OSHA confined spaceentry procedures into these facilities is also recommended.

Assessing Senior Farmers' Perceptions of Tractor and Machinery-Related Hazards

Agricultural injury data over the last 25 years have consistently shown a high proportion of cases involving senior farmers and agricultural workers. Farm tractors are the most commonly reported causal agent for fatalities in this population. Understanding of the specific causal factors associated with this apparent risk, however, remains very limited, and to date, the safety and health profession’s response has not been commensurate with the need. In order to develop effective safety programs designed to impact a specific population or audience, it is necessary to conduct formative research to gain a thorough understanding of the beliefs, perceptions, attitudes, and influences of the people within that population. The research discussed in this article represents the formative, or pre-production, component of current efforts to develop safety programs to reduce tractor and machinery-related injuries among senior (age 60 and older) farm and ranch operators and agricultural workers. This research utilized a national survey (n = 295) to examine senior farmers’ perceptions of tractor and machinery-related risks, as well as safety-related beliefs, major safety influences, and safety information preferences. Senior farmers’ ratings of tractor-related risks reflected perceptions that such hazards were only moderately risky in relation to other farm hazards, though 83% of this group agreed tractor-related injuries are generally severe. Findings indicated that senior farmers may undervalue the benefit of ROPS. While 88% agreed ROPS are effective in preventing injuries, only 42% of the senior farmers reported having ROPS on their primary tractors. Furthermore, only 26% believed that the protective benefits provided by ROPS outweighed the costs and inconvenience of installing and using them. This article concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of risk perceptions and personal beliefs for the development of injury intervention programs for the senior farm population.

Review of Entrapments in Bulk Agricultural Materials at Commercial Grain Facilities

Abstract Seventy-one cases of entrapment in various bulk agricultural materials at commercial grain facilities were identified during the period from 1969 through 1995 in 25 states and the province of Ontario. The present annual rate of five fatal entrapments in the commercial grain industry is estimated to be 4.3 per 10,000 facilities. While fatal entrapments appear to be relatively rare events compared to other work-related fatalities associated with the grain-handling industry, the morbidity of entrapment victims is extremely high. In fact, 92% of the complete entrapments identified resulted in a fatality. As with farm-related grain entrapments and suffocations, entrapments in commercial facilities tend to occur in the Corn Belt and involve out-of-condition grain, primarily corn. The data gathered in this study also suggest that employees become entrapped when they are circumventing safe work practices and that an employee working alone is unlikely to survive the entrapment. It is also clear that current injury surveillance mechanisms do not provide adequate information to develop comprehensive prevention and first response strategies for the commercial grain industry.

Estimating the prevalence of disability within the U.S. farm and ranch population.

ABSTRACT A review of literature was conducted on farm and ranch population estimates, the prevalence of disability in that group, and the effect of disease and injury on that disability rate. Methods used by various entities (primarily governmental) to estimate the population and disability prevalence among farmers, ranchers, family members, and other agricultural workers are summarized. A systematic methodology was developed to combine results from the most recent surveys and censuses and was used to make best estimates of the agricultural population impacted by disability. The findings show that estimates of the disability population in the farm, ranch, and agricultural labor sector, ranges from 1.04 million to 2.23 million individuals depending upon which surveys and censuses are used. Primary reasons identified for the inability to provide a more precise population size include lack of consistent survey methodologies and definitions. A strong argument can be made for additional efforts to determine a more accurate value for the number of individuals in the farm and ranch population who would benefit from disability services, as well as a more accurate estimate of the total population directly involved in agricultural production. Without such data, calculation of more reliable exposure levels to injury and disability is not possible.

Assessment of Work-Related Injury Risk for Farmers and Ranchers with Physical Disabilities

This article reports on a study to determine the risk of work-related injury as perceived by farmers and ranchers with physical disabilities and whether or not this population actually experiences different frequencies or types of work-related injuries when compared to their able-bodied counterparts. The study was also designed to explore strategies for promoting safe work practices and preventing secondary injuries* while completing farm-related work following a disability. A survey instrument was developed and administered to 1,954 farmers and ranchers whose names appear on the mailing list of Purdue University’s Breaking New Ground Resource Center and who are known to have severe physical disabilities. The population surveyed was not a random sample of all farmers and ranchers who have a physical disability but rather a census of the largest known population of farmers and ranchers who have reported to be actively involved in agricultural production with significant physical disabilities. Slightly over 41% of those responding to the survey reported spinal cord injury as their disability and 29.7% reported either an upper or lower limb amputation. Thirty-one percent were farming full time with another 37.1% farming part-time. Twenty-five percent of the respondents reported having had a farm-related injury they believed was the result of their physical disability. Most secondary injuries were livestock-related, primarily beef cattle, followed by falls. The survey found that the nature of work-related injuries of farmers with physical disabilities tended to mirror those occurring to able-bodied farm operators except for the higher incidence of bruising and pressure sores occurring among the population reporting spinal cord injury as their disability type. The survey found that 60.1% of the respondents believed they were at a greater risk of being injured on their farm or ranch because of their physical disability. Survey results also indicated a need for specially designed educational materials related to safe work practices and preventing secondary injuries while completing farm-related work following a disability.

Bull-Related Incidents: Their Prevalence and Nature

ABSTRACT The hazards associated with breeding livestock were well documented in some of the earliest annals of literature. With the exception of horses, bulls have probably caused more livestock- related deaths and injuries to human beings throughout recorded history than any other domesticated animal. A review of the literature might suggest that attacks by bulls were more of a problem in the past than today. However, a bull-related injury surveillance project conducted by the authors documented that bulls continue to contribute to an unacceptable number of serious injuries and deaths. In 2006, following an increase in the number of bull-attack cases identified during ongoing surveillance of agricultural work-related injuries, a search of agricultural injury data was initiated to gain a better perspective of the bull-incidence problem. Approximately 3 years of data, gathered from daily reviews of online sources plus a review of more than 12,000 prior injury reports, were combined, coded, and summarized. A total of 287 cases primarily from the United States were documented and analyzed. Where reported, contributing factors were identified, including age of victim, type of bull, type and condition of handling facility, experience of handler, and time of year. Analysis of the literature and data indicates that (1) the risk of injury associated with hours of exposure to bulls is higher than that of working around cows; (2) the risk of a bull-related fatality, based upon the hours of exposure, appears to be higher than other known hazards, such as tractor operation; (3) victims generally appeared to have had considerable experience with handling bulls; (4) bulls raised from calves on-site appeared more aggressive; and (5) most of the incidents involved the victim being inside the bull holding area. Recommendations are presented for reducing the potential of bull attacks on humans.

Farm-Related Injuries Among Old Order Anabaptist Children: Developing a Baseline from Which to Formulate and Assess Future Prevention Strategies

ABSTRACT Old Order Anabaptists are a religiously based North American subculture that is often identified with simple lifestyles, limited reliance on modern technologies, and unique farming methods, including dependence upon horse-drawn vehicles and farm equipment. Members of this group generally have large numbers of children and begin involving them in work around the home or farm at an early age. Children are called upon to participate in a wide range of activities that most farm children are no longer exposed to due to the adoption of modern technologies and changing roles of children in contemporary society. Preliminary research suggested that farm-related injuries and fatalities may be an increasing problem among Old Order Anabaptist children, thus posing the need for a better understanding of causative factors, which could then contribute to the design of more effective intervention strategies. This present study employed a national injury surveillance process to expand Purdue Universitys Old Order Anabaptist Injury Database in order to develop a baseline of Old Order child-related farm injury information for the year 2002 and then analyzed that data in reference to specific underlying factors. From the expanded database, 217 farm-related injuries to children under the age of 18 from 14 states and Canada were identified as having occurred during the year 2002. The most common primary source of injury was falls, and the most common nature of injury was bone fractures. The age of victim most commonly reported was 14, with the peaks in injuries occurring at ages 3–4 and 13–15. Culture-specific factors played a role in many of the incidents, the main ones being direct animal contact, hay-hole falls, and horse-drawn equipment runovers. Fourteen of the 217 recorded injuries resulted in fatalities, of which 6 were attributed to equipment runovers and the rest to a crush or pin, a fall, being struck by an object, direct animal contact, or engulfment in feed/grain. Animal behavior was cited as the secondary source of injury in 6 of the fatality cases. Based upon the findings of this study, a body of recommendations was developed for formulating culturally sensitive childhood injury prevention strategies in Old Order communities for use by parents, Old Order parochial school teachers, employers, extension educators, health workers, and others. Those recommendations focus specifically on resources and actions for each group involved as well as on possible topics for further research. The baseline data also provides a means to assess the impact of future injury prevention efforts targeting the Old Order population.

Effectiveness of the Indiana 4-H tractor program at instilling safe tractor operating behaviors and attitudes in youth

The purpose of this research was to determine what impact the Indiana 4-H Tractor Program has had on safer tractor operating behavior and attitudes of participants and to provide recommendations for program improvement. To assess the impact, 108 non 4-H youth who reported they operated a tractor regularly were compared with 104 4-H Tractor Program participants. A single skilled evaluator observed each individual in the two groups as she/he operated a tractor through a standard tractor-operating course. Information on recent tractor-related injury history and attitudes toward tractor safety was gathered using a written survey. Results showed that the program has had both a perceived and demonstrable positive influence; however, a need for improvements was also shown. Most significant of the findings was that participants in the 4-H Tractor Program were observed to operate tractors in a safer and more skillful manner. Even though the 4-H Tractor Program participants reported substantially more exposure time to tractor operation, they did not report a significantly different injury experience in comparison to the non-participants. Responses from the 4-H program participants, however, indicated a trend toward having more tractor-related close call incidents. There was no significant difference between the two groups in their attitudes toward tractor safety. Program recommendations developed as a result of the study primarily related to the need for updating instructional material used in the 4-H Tractor Program and the need for additional training and resources for volunteer leaders.

Summary of fatal entrapments in on-farm grain storage bins, 1966-1998.

For over 30 years, Purdue University has maintained a national database of agriculture-related entrapment cases that have occurred in loose agricultural material. At present, 391 documented fatal and non-fatal entrapments from the U.S. and Canada make up the Purdue University Agricultural Entrapment Database. In order to specifically study fatal cases of entrapments in grain bins located on farms, the database was reviewed, 181 cases were identified using specific criteria, and the results were summarized. Approximately five cases per year were identified between 1966 and 1998, representing 18 states and one Canadian province. Entrapments were generally reported more often in the top corn-producing states and during the months of November, December, January, March, and June. In 24% of the cases in which the victims age was known, the victims were younger than 16. Children and adolescents younger than 16 were more often fatally entrapped in June than in any other month. For cases in which the product was known, corn was the agent of injury in 53% of the cases and was frequently found to be out-of-condition. At the time of entrapment, victims were involved with bin unloading activities in 76% of the cases in which the activity was identified. These findings are being used to design new injury prevention strategies, including educational materials and recommendations for engineering controls that focus on primary causative factors.