Farm safety belongs to all of us

Agriculture offers rewards that many other professions don’t have. Farmers and ranchers craft their own livelihood and do it mostly on their own terms.

However, it also comes with safety risks.

The AgriSafe Network shares telling details. According to data from the Census of Fatal Occupation Injury, in 2022, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries had the highest rate of fatal work injuries compared to other occupations, at 23.5 deaths per 100,000 workers. That number may not seem significant, but if 23.5 deaths were lost in accidents in a block in a community like Greeley, Colorado, which has a population estimated at about 109,000, that would alarm people.

The National Education Center for Agricultural Safety noted that in 2022, 417 people died in farm accidents.

Work is all hours

Agricultural workers in the High Plains carry out their duties in rural settings at all hours. The hurriedness of trying to finish a day’s work while the sun sets earlier in the fall only adds to the stress of trying to plant wheat, pick corn or cut soybeans or sorghum. Livestock are being brought in closer to ranches in preparation for winter.

The tasks are many and can be taken for granted, yet there is a need for shields to cover rotating shafts on tractors and implements that can grab shirtsleeves. Belts and chains on combines are covered to protect fingers. A cantankerous bull or heifer in a corral can puncture a lung. Grain bin entrapments, unfortunately, claim lives or seriously injure too many younger workers as they slowly suffocate. Younger workers make sure the grain is settling right, but it only takes a wrong step, and disaster strikes.

Sharing the road

Sharing the road with people is another challenge where grain is being transported by large tractor-trailers to on-the-farm storage or country elevators. Truck drivers are trying to reach destinations near and far to unload grain. Sharing the road is a responsibility of rural and country cousins. Unmarked intersections, particularly at sunset, can be another place where danger lurks.

In rural areas we know that first responders and emergency workers help as quickly as they can, but the expansiveness requires added time to get to a location. We suggest that farm operations go over safety plans early and often with contingency plans in place.

Above politics

Farm safety is above politics. The NECAS said every president since 1944 has proclaimed the third week in September as National Farm Safety and Health Week, and President Joe Biden recently noted the importance of the topic with a recent statement.

“America’s farmers, farmworkers and ranchers work around the clock to nourish our nation and power our economy, allowing us to feed our communities and compete in markets worldwide,” he said. “They also steward lands and provide meaningful jobs in our rural and tribal communities.  During National Farm Safety and Health Week, we recognize the incredible contributions of everyone working on farms, and we recommit to improving their safety and well-being.

“I call upon the people of the United States—including America’s farmers; ranchers; and agriculture-related institutions, organizations, and businesses—to reaffirm a dedication to farm safety and health. I also urge all Americans to express appreciation and gratitude to our farmers, farmworkers and ranchers for their tireless service to our nation.”

We urge people in the agricultural sector to use farm safety week, Sept. 15 to 21, as a period to reacquaint themselves with protective procedures. The loss of any agricultural worker is a loss for all of us.

Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected]