What Influences Our Choices on Farm Safety?

"We always follow safety practices on our farm, except for this one time, and that was when the accident happened." Far too many recounts of farm accidents or close calls start with that explanation. The individual was in a hurry, tired, distracted, or for some other reason, deviated from what they knew to be a safer route. This situation begs the question of who or what might influence behavior? Researchers have examined the various influences related to farm safety practices. The findings from a few studies may provide a bit of insight into this question.

Agriculture and fisheries workers in Australia reported what influenced their safety-related behavior in focus group discussions (McBain-Rigg et al., 2017). While various influences were identified, peers and family were reported as direct influencers while recognizing the importance of safety and family members because of the nature of the business with family members working together. Peer-to-peer interactions and the sharing of safety information, along with legislation and leadership enhancement of influencers, were identified as ways of supporting comprehensive safety programming for employees across agricultural and fisheries industries.

However, not all family members may exert influence. Safety decisions, such as grain bin entry, may not be influenced by family, with reference to parental authority, or pressure from siblings or peers when it comes to youth (Walls and Mosher, 2021). A set of principles of influence regarding the use of shields on power take-off drivelines was assessed on farms in New York (Tinc et al., 2021). The researchers concluded that none of the principles examined in the study influenced farmers' attitudes or behaviors to implement this critical farm safety practice.

Farm safety is a topic that invariably comes up during discussions with groups of farmers. It's a topic for which almost everyone has a story to share, whether through a personal experience or by an experience of someone they know. A retrospective survey was conducted with dairy discussion group participants in Ireland (O'Connor et al., 2020). Personal experiences were shared in discussions by 88% of the responding groups, while 82% reiterated close calls. There is tremendous value in discussing occupational safety and health, even with groups meeting primarily to exchange information on production practices.

Another agricultural group is the cooperative or co-op, which allows farmers to come together to realize economic, social, or other benefits through working collectively. The possibility of utilizing co-ops to share community resources for the purpose of promoting mental health, another important aspect of farm health and well-being, was studied by Liang et al. (2021). The community provided by co-ops was recognized as a valuable avenue to convey resources with a sense of belonging and control for the members.

The nature of farm work frequently requires independence, which is one of the aspects that many farmers value and appreciate. Does that independent work limit the positive influence of coworkers or peers? How about the nutritionists, veterinarians, lenders, extension educators, and other industry professionals providing services that can be viewed as trusted, convenient sources of information?

Researchers in Wisconsin sought to evaluate the influence of certain industry professionals on decisions related to safety made by their clients (Bendixsen et al., 2017). Study participants, including dairy farmers, insurance agents, and bankers, indicated confidence that insurance agents could play a role in designing farm safety programs that aid in identifying hazards and providing interventions, due to their familiarity with the various risks and potential problems.

Other professionals who visit farms often provide production and management information. They could easily relay farm safety information as well. Dairy farmers were reported to value publications and face-to-face meetings as important communication methods, while on-farm consultants were viewed as safety influencers (Wilmes and Swenson, 2019). Expect safety messages to continue to be relayed by professionals visiting farms, as well as incorporated into meetings and woven into publications.

Following a series of interviews with farmers, farmwives, and other family members, researchers concluded that farmers realize the risks that are part of farm work (Sorensen et al., 2017). Further, they reported that farmers believe their perseverance and resourcefulness are key characteristics that allow them to survive, not necessarily following safety practices.

A recent review of the literature of health and safety interventions in the dairy industry indicated that evidence assessing the effectiveness of these interventions is lacking (Driscoll et al., 2022). Even as researchers try to understand more about why choices regarding farm safety practices are made, we should not stop the conversation. Farmers and ag industry professionals can still work together to have a positive influence on others in the ag community by looking out for them, encouraging safe practices, and sharing information that promotes farm safety through discussion groups, at meetings and field days, and even in those informal settings like the local co-op or feed store.

References

Bendixsen C, Barnes K, Kieke B, Schenk D, Simich J, and M Keifer. 2017. Sorting through the spheres of influence: using modified pile sorting to describe who influences dairy farmers' decision-making about safety. J Agromed 22(4):316-327.

Driscoll M, Dalton D, Jenkins P, Tinc P, Murphy D, Douphrate DI, Lundqvist P, Pate M, Lindahl C, Meyerhoff A, Scott E, Carrabba J, Hagevoort GR, and J Sorenson. 2022. A scoping review of safety and health interventions in the high-risk dairy industry: gaps in evidence point to future directions in research. J Agromed 27(1):51-63.

Liang Y, Janssen B, Casteel C, Nonnenmann M, DS Rohlman. 2021. Agricultural cooperatives in mental health: farmers' perspectives on potential influence. J Agromed 21: DOI:10.1080/1059924X.2021.2004962.

McBain-Rigg KE, Franklin RC, King JC, and T Lower. 2017. Influencing safety in Australian agriculture and fisheries. J Agromed 22(4):347-357.

O'Connor T, Meredith D, McNamara J, O'Hora D, and J Kinsella. 2021. Farmer discussion groups create space for peer learning about safety and health. J Agromed 26(2):120-131.

Sorensen JA, Tinc PJ, Weil R, and D Droullard. 2017. Symbolic interactionism: a framework for understanding risk-taking behaviors in farm communities. J Agromed 22(1):26-35.

Tinc PJ, Sorensen JA, Goodspeed MM, and PL Jenkins. 2021. Do Cialdini's "principles of influence" motivate safe practices on farms? J Agromed ePub July 21:1-12.

Walls KN, and GA Mosher. 2021. Factors that influence farm safety decisions of young adults when entering agricultural grain bins. J Ag Safety Health 27(3):147-158.

Wilmes E and R Swenson. 2019. Engaging dairy farmers in safety messages: values, moral norms, barriers, and implications for communication. J Appl Commun 103(1):7. doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2204.