Thursday, September 14, 2006
How Vulnerable Is The Health And Safety Of Your Farm Family?
For some reason, maybe you can guess, the week beginning September 17 is designated as Farm Safety Week. Could it be that harvest is getting underway and many farm injuries and deaths occur around harvesting equipment? Could it be that slow farm equipment is on roadways more frequently at harvest, and inattentive motorists cause death and injury to themselves and farm equipment operators? Could it be something totally different that the National Safety Council wants everyone to know that agriculture takes turns with mining as being the industry that claims the most lives and limbs? As we approach Farm Safety Week, you have a choice of reading this, or we can have your spouse make you read this!President Franklin Roosevelt first proclaimed National Farm Safety Week in 1944 and it has been well cultivated and fertilized by the National Safety Council and more Extension agents, farm broadcasters, Farm Bureau managers, bank loan officers, and other folks than you could ever imagine. They have one thing in common: if you are not around, they have one less friend and client, and the community has a vacancy it did not want. That is the whole concept behind the fancy words that go along with Farm Safety Week.
There are a lot of risks that you have taken on the farm. Been there. Done those. I know. You are in a position to control your future health and safety, as well as the health and safety of your other farm family members, such as senior partners and junior helpers. There are too many resources available to list them all, but just type “farm safety” into an Internet search and you’ll do fine. However, there are some offered here to get you started.
We start with “A,” for arthritis. Purdue University’s farm safety website says “Arthritis is one of America's most common chronic disease conditions, affecting one in every three individuals. Because of the physical nature of agricultural work, arthritis can have an especially disabling effect on farmers and ranchers.” Navigate on the Internet to: Arthritis and Agriculture: A guide to Understanding and Living with Arthritis
A 23-page brochure focused on agricultural workers that discusses such topics as: common types of arthritis, managing arthritis, unproven arthritis remedies, and sources of assistance. Since this publication is designed specifically for agricultural workers, it gives advice on methods of modifying farm and ranch tasks to provide added protection to joints. The publication also emphasizes proper diagnosis, exercise, medication, stress management, and working with a team of professionals to cope with arthritis. A variety of organizations are listed for those wanting further assistance with arthritis or disability-related issues.
While we are still on “A,” consider the AgrAbility project which exists in many states, including all Cornbelt states except for OH and ND. The National AgrAbility Project, created in 1991, links the federal and state Extension Services with nonprofit disability service organizations to provide information, education, and technical assistance to heighten public awareness about persons with disabilities employed in agriculture. For specific contact information, navigate to the list of state projects.
“B” stands for Breaking New Ground, the Purdue initiative for farmers and ranchers with physical disabilities. On its website are resources for rural rehabilitation professionals to make worksite assessments and see what accommodations are needed for the individual to remain a productive member of the agricultural community. This tool covers a wide range of topics related to worksite assessments, including identification of potential clients, preparing for assessments, and client confidentiality issues. The core of the resource, a reproducible version of the Agricultural Worksite Assessment Tool, assists in making accurate assessments of work environments through the use of 14 assessment areas.
Your farm kid is the last one you want to be injured, because he or she is going to follow in your footsteps some day. So you and your farm kid need to be familiar with Farm Safety 4 Just Kids. It includes farm safety fact sheets for kids, such as: ATV, lawn mowers, child care, livestock, electricity and many others. The farm kid in a motor vehicle needs to know there are 40% more fatal crashes in the country than in the city, and that means seat belts are important. They should get the point at “Buckle Up or Eat Glass." Farm Safety 4 Just Kids may be best know for its Day Camps. Consider helping sponsor one in your community.
The farm safety advocates embrace each other in a strong network that extends nationally, through most states, and links with many state and local organizations. One of those is the Illinois Network for Agriculture Safety and Health (INASH). INASH members represent a broad range of agencies and organizations with interest and expertise in agricultural safety and health, such as Extension, Farm Bureau, hospitals, state government, etc. INASH is a forum that brings together diverse segments of the agricultural community to develop, coordinate, and implement strategies to reduce the frequency and severity of injuries and illnesses associated with agriculture. INASH was created because agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries in Illinois, with 28 farm deaths in 2005 and 625 in past 20 years.
Integral parts of such an organization are the farm safety specialists at Land Grant Universities. At the University of Illinois, there are farm safety fact sheets on stress, women’s issues, senior issues, manure handling, electricity difficulties, roll-over accidents, and highway safety. Another Land Grant resource is at the Wisconsin Center for Agriculture Safety and Health.
Your farm’s hired employees should also be your focus for health and safety, and help on that issue is available at the National Center for Farmworker health. The National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH), established in 1975, is dedicated to improving the health status of farmworker families by providing information services and products to a network of more than 500 migrant health center service sites in the United States as well as other organizations and individuals serving the farmworker population.
The granddaddy of resources for farm safety is the National Safety Council, which has links to many organizations and safety issues. By the way, its stress checker is handy.
There will always be stress in a household with someone hard of hearing, who denies he or she is hard of hearing and refuses to do anything about it. The NSC website has an interesting chart of decibels produced by typical farm operations. A recent survey conducted by the National safety Council at the Farm Progress Show found that “Seventy-eight percent of males believed they had a hearing loss, and 81% partially attributed the loss to noise on the farm. When asked if they would wear a hearing aid if they knew they had a significant hearing loss, 91% of farmers affirmed they would; yet only 4% were wearing hearing aids. Forty-three percent had never had a hearing test.”
Stress, arthritis, and hearing loss are not the only safety issues on the farm. The NSC website also focuses on: toxic gases, UV rays, respiratory disease, and hazardous chemicals.
Summary:
As National Farm Safety Week approaches, the awareness of potential mishaps should increase. With some luck, the number of real mishaps should decrease. Farm operators are charged with the responsibility of securing their safety and the safety of others. But in doing so, there is a wealth of resources that provide fact sheets. Before harvest, check your reflectors, plan work breaks, get a hearing test or some arthritis medicine, and ask your family members what they plan to do to increase their practice of safety on the farm.
Posted by Stu Ellis on 09/14 at 02:29 AM | Permalink