Agricultural Safety and Health Newsletter Welcome

Why does agricultural safety and health matter?

Farmers, farm workers, and their families come from all walks of life. Some operate the family farm that has been transferred over several generations with the goal of passing it on to the next one. Some decided to start operating a farm even though there is no history of farming in their family. Some work on the farm of the neighbors they grew up with while others work on farms thousands of miles from where they grew up. As much as their goals, farming knowledge, and lived realities may vary, these farmers, farm workers, and their families have at least two things in common. First, they are essential members of our society. We cannot function without the food, fuel, and fiber that they produce. Second, they work in one of the most dangerous but also stressful sector of the economy. Besides negatively affecting the quality of life and well-being, physical and mental health challenges can impact the farm in several ways. This includes farm productivity, household and farm business finances, farm business development trajectories, and in some instances early ending of a career and the farm business.

The $1 million question is what can we do to limit the physical, emotional, and economic burden associated with agricultural-related illness, injuries, and fatalities in agriculture? Similar to the complexity of the reasons behind health and safety challenges, the way we address them is complex. In some instances, it is quite easy as we have technical fixes. For example, tractor rollover is a leading cause of farm fatality in Pennsylvania but also nationally. Rollover protection structures (ROPS) are 99% effective in preventing injury or death from tractor rollovers when used with a seat belt. To help limit the cost of retrofitting a tractor, rebates are available.

In other instances, it is on all of us to stay vigilant and use safety precautions. For example, manure gas is invisible and dangerous but there are simple steps that people can take to avoid losing consciousness, suffocation, or death.

Sometimes, there is just no easy fix. That's the case with stress, anxiety, and suicides in agriculture whereas decades of research have shown that key contributors are outside of farmers' and farm workers' control (e.g., weather, fluctuating commodity prices, environmental regulations, immigration laws). While learning about stress management techniques or talking with a healthcare provider can help all of us navigate through difficult moments in our lives, the solutions to address the root causes of these challenges are much bigger than what farmers, farm workers, and their families can do on their own.

You might now wonder, where do we go from here? In our years working with agricultural communities, it is clear that there is a wealth of knowledge and experience working in a complex environment. We have learned about the strategies ag workers use to stay safe and healthy, but we have also heard their worries about working in a dangerous environment. The goal of this newsletter is to be of service to agricultural communities by sharing practical information and resources that can be used in the day-to-day operation of a farm enterprise.

The Penn State Agricultural Safety and Health Program

It is with the goal of reducing agricultural-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities that the Penn State Agricultural Safety and Health Program was established in 1976, with Dr. Dennis Murphy having led the program from the beginning until he retired in 2017. The program is based in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering and is also part of Penn State Extension. We are currently a team of four conducting research and providing information and resources on a wide range of topics: equipment safety features such as ROPS, farm safety demonstrations, assistive technology and modifications for farmers with disabilities, safety improvements, organizational behavior, farm children safety including childcare and tractor certification, access to health insurance and health care, and mental health. Ultimately, the goal of the program is to support the health, safety, well-being, and economic viability of the agricultural sector. You can consult our program website for more information.

Our program conducts research and provides information and resources that can be used in the day-to-day operation of a farm business. For those involved in the agricultural sector in a range of capacities such as 4-H or FFA chapter leaders, Extension educators, farm service providers, or farm organization conference planners, we also provide resources that you can use in your work. For example, we offer the National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program (NSTMOP), including the instructor online training to enable leaders to provide tractor certification training for youth. For youth, the NSTMOP student manual is available in English and Spanish. This is accessible to anyone no matter where you live. If you live in Pennsylvania and are planning a safety-focused event, a member of our team can come to your event to share information and do farm safety demonstrations, or you can borrow one of our safety demonstrations to use at your upcoming event.

What's in the newsletter?

We will use the newsletter to share information and resources from the Penn State Agricultural Safety and Health Program as well as relevant information from other programs. Some of the topics that we will cover in the newsletter will be season-related. For example, the first newsletter includes an article about Springtime preparation. Other topics we will cover are relevant year-round, such as farm equipment safety on public roads, hearing loss prevention, and farm fatalities in Pennsylvania.

At the end of the newsletter, you will also find links for upcoming events and courses connected to agricultural safety and health.

Let's be in touch!

We hope this newsletter will be of use to you. You can sign up for the newsletter online. If you have suggestions on how we can make this newsletter more relevant to you and others in agriculture, please reach out (ffb5072@psu.edu/ lmf8@psu.edu); we would love to hear from you.