Summary of Known U.S. Injuries and Fatalities Involving Livestock Waste Storage, Handling, and Transport Operations: 1975-2019.

Highlights: Approximately ten cases were documented annually over the 44-year period; 48% were in the last decade and 28% were in the last three years, primarily due to more aggressive surveillance and on-line access to incident reports. A total of 389 incidents involving 459 individuals were documented, of which 59% were fatal; >85% of the victims were male, with an average age of 37. 49 rescue incidents involved a total of 119 secondary victims, indicating that approximately 26% of the victims were secondary victims, including first responders.

Summary of Injuries and Fatalities Involving Livestock Manure Storage, Handling, and Transport Operations in Seven Central States: 1976-2019.

HIGHLIGHTS A total of 133 cases were documented in a seven-state region, with Iowa reporting 43% of the cases and asphyxiations accounting for 42% of all cases. Most victims were male (>79%) with an average age of 38 years. The overall fatality rate was 57%, and 16% of the victims were under the age of 21.

A 25-Year Overview of AgrAbility Demographics.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) AgrAbility Program was established as part of the 1990 Farm Bill.

Indiana Farm Occasional Wood Cutter Fatalities Involving Individuals 55 Years and Older.

Forestry activities, such as tree cutting and harvesting of forest resources, have been documented as dangerous tasks with increased risk of injuries and fatalities. These hazards are well known in the professional logging community, but less attention is given to farmers who perform occasional tree trimming and cutting activities, especially for the older farmer population. This study examined Indiana farm work-related fatalities from 1988 to 2017 involving farmers 55 years and older who performed occasional wood cutting activities.

Editorial: ROPS Are Not Homemade.

Safety professionals should speak up when secondary school teachers and FFA advisors consider fabricating and installing low-cost rollover protective structures (ROPS) as service learning projects for ag education students or as a service to the farm community. These projects are often motivated by the desire to address the continued occurrence of tractor rollovers, which are the most frequent cause of farm-related fatalities (NIOSH, 2018). These projects have also been made feasible by the availability of online plans for ROPS fabrication, including plans from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) that are designed for specific makes and models of tractors.

Development of methodology to document and code farm-related injuries and fatalities involving manure storage, handling and transport - with summary of 2017 incidents.

As part of ongoing surveillance of fatalities and injuries involving agricultural confined spaces by Purdue University's Agricultural Safety and Health Program, nearly 300 cases involving manure storage, handling, and transport equipment and facilities have been documented over the past 30 years. With the exception of a summary of 77 fatalities published by Beaver and Field, these cases have not been previously analysed or published due to a lack of resources and the limitations of the Purdue Agricultural Confined Spaces Incident Database (PACSID) which was designed primarily for analysis of grain-related cases. These limitations included differences in terminology used to code case information in the PACSID and dissimilar causative and contributing factors.

Summary of U.S. Injuries and Fatalities Involving Entrapment and Suffocation in Grain Transport Vehicles.

Since 1978, the Purdue University Agricultural Safety and Health Program has managed a surveillance effort and database to collect information on documented injuries and fatalities in all forms of U.S. agricultural confined spaces.

Utilization and Effectiveness of Harnesses and Lifelines in Grain Entrapment Incidents: Preliminary Analysis.

No previous studies have been found that document the level of use or validate the effectiveness of safety harnesses and lifelines in the prevention of or extrication from grain entrapments or engulfments. This article addresses that void via analysis of the data contained in the Purdue Agricultural Confined Space Incident Database. A total of 1,147 cases involving entrapments or engulfments in grain masses were mined for terms that might indicate the use of a safety harness, lifeline, fall restraint system, rope, or outside observer.

Accessing and operating agricultural machinery: Advancements in assistive technology for users with impaired mobility.

This research focused on the advancements made in enabling agricultural workers with impaired mobility to access and operate off-road agricultural machinery. Although not a new concept, technological advancements in remote-controlled lifts, electronic actuators, electric over hydraulic controllers, and various modes of hand controls have advanced significantly, allowing operators with limited mobility to resume a high level of productivity in agricultural-related enterprises. In the United States, approximately 1.

Determining the Effectiveness of Mirrors and Camera Systems in Monitoring the Rearward Visibility of Self-Propelled Agricultural Machinery.

This study concerned the ability of operators of tractors and other self-propelled agricultural machinery to visually recognize objects and/or hazards within close proximity to the rear of those machines and/or any implements in tow, especially when backing up. It was hypothesized that the data collected would identify the factors affecting rearward visibility and help determine the effectiveness of two backup-assisting devices (i.e.

Methods of Collecting and Analyzing Rearward Visibility Data for Agricultural Machinery: Hazard and/or Object Detectability.

Recent interest in rearward visibility for private, construction, and commercial vehicles and documentation of rearward runovers involving bystanders outside the field of vision of the vehicle operator led to an investigation into the need for enhanced methods of rearward visibility for large, off-highway, agricultural equipment. A review of the literature found limited relevant research and minimal data on incidents involving rearward runovers of bystanders and co-workers. This article reviews the findings regarding the methods identified and tested to collect and analyze rearward visibility data, from the operator's perspective, for large self-propelled agricultural equipment, including the four-wheel drive tractors, combines, agricultural sprayers, and skid-steer loaders that are increasingly found on agricultural production sites.

Comparisons of Agricultural Seating for Paraplegia.

People with spinal cord injury/paraplegia are operating agricultural machinery despite the lack of research evidence to support seating interventions. These operators represent a vulnerable population in the agricultural workforce, and information to support their health in the workplace is urgently warranted. This research compared a group of subjects with paraplegia on different intervention cushion conditions during a simulated tractor driving task.

Utilizing Secondary Agricultural Education Programs to Deliver Evidence-Based Grain Safety Training for Young and Beginning Workers.

Purdue University's Agricultural Safety and Health Program (PUASHP) has collaborated with secondary agricultural education programs, including FFA Chapters, for over 70 years to deliver and promote agricultural safety and health programming. With support from a U.S.

Contributing Causes of Injury or Death in Grain Entrapment, Engulfment, and Extrication.

Objectives: Grain entrapments and engulfments are one of most common hazards associated with grain storage facilities, with over 1,140 such entrapments/engulfments documented since the 1970s. The objective of the study was to determine the factors that contribute to injury or death in grain entrapment, engulfment, and extrication cases.

Methods: A literature review, including data contained in the Purdue Agricultural Confined Spaces Incident Database (PACSID), was conducted to determine the conditions that the body experiences during an entrapment or engulfment in grains and during extrication efforts.

Risk assessment of cattle handling on pasture using work environment screening tool.

Working with beef cattle in an open area or while on pasture has been shown to expose workers to a high risk of work-related injury. Prior research on this problem has been conducted using mail surveys, interviews, self-reporting of work practices and injury experiences, and summaries of published injury data, including media reports. Prior research on injury prevention has largely focused on worker education in a specific cultural or geographical setting.

Hazards for farmers with disabilities: working in cold environments.

In consequence of working in cold environments, agricultural workers may be exposed to higher risk of cold-related injuries, compared with the general population. These injuries can include tissue damage due to the exposure to subfreezing temperatures, more generalized symptoms caused by hypothermia, and secondary injuries caused by impaired performance. Risk of cold injury is increased for older workers and for those with disabling health conditions, both of which occur in above-average numbers in agriculture.

Twenty years of AgrAbility: a retrospective forum.

In 1990, the Farm Bill included authorization for the Education and Training Assistance Program for Farmers with Disabilities with the goal of enabling a high-quality lifestyle for farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural workers with disabilities. Twenty years later, AgrAbility is a developed national program with 25 state projects and affiliates throughout the United States and strong recognition with the rural and disability communities. A special forum was held in Washington, DC, last September to celebrate AgrAbility's achievements.

Proceedings of the "Arthritis, Agriculture, and Rural Life: state of the art research, practices, and applications" conference, West Lafayette, Indiana, May 11-13, 2011.

This article presents proceedings of the first national conference to assemble professionals to address the issue of arthritis in agriculture. The "Arthritis, Agriculture, and Rural Life: State of the Art Research, Practices, and Applications" conference, May 11-13, 2011, at the Purdue University Beck Agricultural Center in West Lafayette, Indiana, focused on increasing awareness and education in the prevention, effects, care, and treatment of arthritis specific to farmers. Presentations included a contextualizing keynote and sessions addressing the prevention and treatment of arthritis in agriculture, including topics such as traditional arthritis therapies, alternative treatments, assistive technology, and ergonomic techniques and modifications.

Secondary injury potential of assistive technologies used by farmers with disabilities: findings from case studies.

In order to complete essential tasks, farmers with disabilities often make and use assistive technology (AT), which itself may cause further injuries known as secondary injuries. A set of 19 case studies was used to investigate the potential for injury on home-fabricated assistive technologies (ATs) used by farmers with disabilities. The case studies consisted of close-ended and open-ended interviews that were designed to help understand the farmers' perception of potential for injuries and safety measures implemented or not implemented.

AgrAbility mental/behavioral health for farm/ranch families with disabilities.

Farmers and their families are at high risk for work-related stressors and incidents that may result in physically disabling conditions. Coping with the acute and chronic results of disability has been documented to contribute to mental and behavioral health issues. Improvements in the ability to cope with the impact of stressors and adjustment to living with a severe disability can enhance quality of life and well-being and decrease long-term emotional complications.

Bull-related incidents: their prevalence and nature.

The hazards associated with breeding livestock were well documented in some of the earliest annals of literature. With the exception of horses, bulls have probably caused more livestock- related deaths and injuries to human beings throughout recorded history than any other domesticated animal. A review of the literature might suggest that attacks by bulls were more of a problem in the past than today.

Estimating the prevalence of disability within the U.S. farm and ranch population.

A review of literature was conducted on farm and ranch population estimates, the prevalence of disability in that group, and the effect of disease and injury on that disability rate. Methods used by various entities (primarily governmental) to estimate the population and disability prevalence among farmers, ranchers, family members, and other agricultural workers are summarized. A systematic methodology was developed to combine results from the most recent surveys and censuses and was used to make best estimates of the agricultural population impacted by disability.

Farm-related injuries among Old Order Anabaptist children: developing a baseline from which to formulate and assess future prevention strategies.

Old Order Anabaptists are a religiously based North American subculture that is often identified with simple lifestyles, limited reliance on modern technologies, and unique farming methods, including dependence upon horse-drawn vehicles and farm equipment. Members of this group generally have large numbers of children and begin involving them in work around the home or farm at an early age. Children are called upon to participate in a wide range of activities that most farm children are no longer exposed to due to the adoption of modern technologies and changing roles of children in contemporary society.

Summary of documented fatalities in livestock manure storage and handling facilities--1975-2004.

Data were compiled and analyzed on the estimated frequency and characteristics of deaths related to on-farm manure storage and handling facilities for the period of 1975 through 2004. Sources included published government reports, national and local media, on-line searches, published farm fatality reports, and prior litigation. No prior research was identified that addressed the magnitude of the problem, nor documented evidence-based intervention strategies.

Analysis of factors contributing to 674 agricultural driveline-related injuries and fatalities documented between 1970 to 2003.

Unguarded agricultural power take-off (PTO) drivelines and related components, including secondary drivelines powered by the PTO, have been historically recognized as serious farm-related hazards that can cause severe, permanently disabling injuries and death when entanglement occurs. The lack of longitudinal and causative data on these incidents has been a barrier for developing relevant and effective intervention strategies. A study was conducted at Purdue University to design, develop, and test a system to document, code, store, and analyze a large amount of agriculture driveline-related injury and fatality data to allow for identification of causative factors and trends that could be used in developing engineering, educational, and regulatory solutions.