2024 Pennsylvania Farm Fatal Injury Summary

Number of farm fatalities

In 2024, there were 19 known agricultural fatalities in Pennsylvania. This number is lower than the 25-year average of 28 deaths per year. However, it is important to note that the number of fatalities in agriculture can vary greatly from one year to another. For example, the lowest number of deaths recorded in the last 25 years was 16 in 2021. Yet, there were 39 deaths in 2020 and 37 deaths in 2022.

The victims in 2024 were from 16 counties across the state. There were two counties in Southeast Pennsylvania with more than one death: Lancaster and York.

Victim Demographics

A quarter (26%) of the victims were under the age of 10, while almost half (47%) were aged 65 and over (table 1). Over 8 in 10 victims were male (84%). An estimated 42% of the victims were from the Anabaptist community. These demographic characteristics are similar to agricultural fatalities in previous years in Pennsylvania and consistent with national-level data.

Types of fatalities

In 2024, three-quarters (74%) of the victims were actively working at the time of injury (paid or unpaid). All but one regularly worked on the farm (i.e. this category generally includes farmers, farm workers, and family members). One-quarter of the victims (26%) were non-workers, and all were children under the age of 10.

Event(s) that lead to fatal injuries

We had enough information about the events leading to the injury for 17 out of the 19 fatalities (figure 1). Off-road and industrial vehicles continue to be the leading source of fatalities in Pennsylvania, as over half (53%) of the fatalities involved this type of equipment. These events included tractor rollovers (5 fatalities) followed by other tractor incidents (2), skidloader rollover (1), and pinning under a forklift (1). The next most frequent types of events were due to compression or contact with equipment or objects. One quarter (24%) of the fatalities occurred this way including being struck by a piece of machinery (2), silo collapse (1), and tree fall (1). Animals were the third most common type of event leading to injury, with 12% of the fatalities occurring that way, including a bull attack and a child being dragged by a horse. Last, one fatality was due to smoke inhalation, and one fatality was due to burns.

How the report was compiled

This annual report was compiled using multiple sources of data: media reports of farm-related fatalities, public obituaries, along with communications with county coroners, emergency first responders, and stakeholders. These data sources were cross-referenced and checked for duplication and non-farming incidents. Established classification schemes were used to classify the types of fatalities and events related to these fatalities, namely theFarm and Agricultural Injury Classification (FAIC) Codes (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, 2020; Murphy et al., 1993) and the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) Manual (Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.).

Help us make sure the Pennsylvania Farm Fatality Report is accurate

We use multiple sources of data to compile this report. However, werecognize that some fatalities may be missing.This is particularly the case as newspapers, which have been a primary source of information, have decreased in number in rural areas. If you know of any fatality that might not be listed, or want to confirm that one is, please reach out to the author of this report: Florence Becot (florence.becot@psu.edu or 814-865-1783).

References

American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. (2020). Farm and Agricultural Injury Classification (FAIC) Code. In ASAE S575.3. St. Joseph, Ml.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Occupational Injury and Illness Classification (OIICS) Manual.

Murphy, D., Purschwitz, M., Mahoney, B., & Hoskin, A. (1993). A proposed classification code for farm and agricultural injuries. American Journal of Public Health, 83(5), 736-738.

Acknowledgements
Erin Rubio for support with data collection and data entry