During this celebrated age of immense power, size, speed and amazing equipment capabilities, danger and agriculture still have much in common.
A great deal of food production involves tilling, crushing, grinding, baling, burning and crimping. Fingers, knuckles, limbs and entire human bodies can easily fall prey.
“There isn’t anything you can do to keep the farm from becoming a death trap. You just have to make all the provisions you can to avoid it,” said Craig Stertz, co-owner of Lincoln Farm Supply, a hay equipment dealer in north-central Kansas. He is pictured above.
“You just can’t override somebody’s thought process,” he said.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported Feb. 22, 2023, “Globally, at least 170,000 agriculture workers are fatally injured every year. Nationally 60 to 70 per 100,000 farmers are killed annually.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 573 fatalities in America’s agricultural sector in 2019; there were 148 farm-related deaths in 2020, according to bls.gov.
From 1985 to 1994, the National Safety Council ranked agriculture as the nation’s most hazardous industry, but by 1996, the death rate was less than half than what it was 10 years prior. Mining took over the top spot.
Accidents involving tractors—a common component in many farming activities—‚were deemed the leading cause of severe and fatal injuries each year, according to englishlloyd.com, Dec. 28, 2022.
Tractors provide mobility and might, through power takeoff shafts for farming machines, such as some swathers, balers and grinders in the hay and feed business. They also tug the fancy rakes that combine windrows in the field while alfalfa and other hays are drying.
“The biggest thing is most tractors today are enclosed,” said Mark Wilson, a major alfalfa producer near Abilene, Kansas. “It keeps you inside and the bugs and dirt off of you. Cabs and seat belts have really helped. They are among the biggest improvements.”
Tragedy can lurk
Many tragic stories involve someone pushing to get work done and not thinking clearly or cautiously.
“A guy was working on the knotter of a baler and didn’t shut off the PTO,” Wilson said. “It tripped the tying mechanism and killed him. Guys who are in a hurry are not always inclined to follow the rules. You don’t want anything running when you’ve got to work on it. You find that when in doubt, you’re always supposed to read the book (owner’s manual).”
Engineering has made farming safer.
“Equipment has gotten bigger, and it’s gotten a lot better with shields and lockouts, where the machine can’t operate unless you’re in the seat,” Wilson said.
Those measures improve safety, but add a downside when it comes to time management, Wilson said.
“I’m not always sure if I want to add another layer and more rules,” he said. “As soon as you leave the (swather) seat, everything just shuts off, but electronics can go bad, and there is nothing you can do manually. I would like to have engineers work on something they design. Sometimes you have to (disassemble) much of the machine to reach what needs to be fixed.”
Manufacturers step up
Manufacturers have built safety features into farming equipment, such as PTO shaft coverings that prevent the spinning steel apparatus from grabbing onto a human.
But those covers are “an ongoing struggle,” said Stertz, regarding longevity.
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“We’re still in an environment that 50% of those PTO shields don’t last over the first two seasons,” he said. “Three-point (hitch) arms can get into them,” he said. “The biggest problem for me is the cost. I thought at one time there was some sort of law or regulation requiring manufacturers to offer shields at their cost.”
Stertz estimated a PTO shield can run $500 or more.
“Most customers aren’t going to spend that money to replace that shield, knowing it’s not going to last that long,” he said.
Besides, Stertz said, danger somewhat subsides when the PTO automatically shuts off as the operator leaves the tractor or self-propelled machine seat.
“There are very few times you need to be around that machine outside of the cab,” he said. “Follow the owner’s manuals. They say to disengage.”
Hay equipment stands out
It would stand to reason, Stertz said, if the number of farm accidents regarding haying equipment was significantly lower than 20 years ago.
Operators are a different breed, he said.
“I think the owners are more safety conscious, and if they have hired men, they definitely don’t want to do something that’s going to injure them or be a liability to the farm,” Stertz said. “I’ve just got so much respect for the equipment. Once you’ve been around it and understand what can happen, you just don’t put yourself at risk.”
One example is the occasional need to “trip the baler cycle to see if it’s working right,” he said. “When you do it, you check your surroundings. Make sure you’re on stable footing and know where your hands are and where you’re going to be if you have to trip it.”
“On the self-propelled swathers we sell these days, there is really no reason an operator has to be around that header or that machine when it’s operating,” Stertz continued. “There is nothing you need to do to it while it’s running. You can always shut it off.”
Getting in a hurry
There are, however, instances when the operator is anxious and “this wanting to take action overrides his knowledge that this isn’t the thing to do,” he said.
Stertz provided his own case in point. “About a month ago, I cut my thumb,” he said. “I was holding something and couldn’t get it to cut, so I put my thumb in the path of the blade. I knew I was going to cut my thumb by the way I was holding it, but at the time, I was willing to take that risk so I could get this twine cut.”
Human nature is what it is.
“We could put labels on cigarettes telling someone it’s dangerous to smoke, but everyone knows somebody who smoked until they were 80 and never got sick,” he said. “But 10 years later, they’re hacking their lungs out.”
Acting impulsively can be a deadly thing, Stertz said.
“Age will eventually overcome that feeling, but in the meantime, you just have to pause and know this is inherently dangerous,” he said.
A few decades ago, having a 10-year-old drive a combine or a grain truck through a field was fairly common, he said, but it wouldn’t be contemplated today.
“We’re hiring guys today who don’t know a Massey baler from a space shuttle,” Stertz said. “We’re making sure they’re aware of the safety issues. If they’re not farm- or machinery-oriented to start with, you’ve just got to spend a little more time with them and show them how dangerous this machinery could be.”
Training employees
Helpers have to be ready, he said.
“In my business, if I have an employee who says, ‘That makes me nervous, I don’t feel comfortable doing that,’ or ‘I think it ought to be done differently,’ I never push them into doing anything,” he said. “I have respect for the way they feel and for the liability I take for making them do something.”
Blame is a big deal these days. It’s more than just human error, Stertz said, and it can be expensive.
“Nobody has an accident,” he said. “Everything is the fault of somebody else. Maybe the traffic sign was too tall or too low or faded.” “Every time I wake up in the morning, there is someone on TV saying, ‘If you have a big truck and you have an accident, we can get you a lot of money.’ There’s a lawyer waiting to sue you for something.”
Mistakes used to be just life lessons, Stertz said.
“I’m betting there are a lot of guys 70 years old with one knuckle cut off,” he said. “Everyone agrees he shouldn’t have been doing something, and today, he’s just short of a knuckle.”
Tim Unruh can be reached at [email protected].
FACTOID:
From Wilson Kehoe Winingham Indianapolis Farm Accident Lawyers, website, updated Feb. 20, 2020:
“Many farming accidents are avoidable. In fact, 80% of farm accidents result from carelessness or failure to deal with hazards safely. Employers are responsible for all aspects of training; and if a farm worker is injured or killed due to improper training, the employer could be held responsible.”
