Agricultural Safety and Health Research and Extension

Publications
National Agenda for Action
[pdf with text only 79 KB]
National Agenda for Action
[pdf with images 31,278 KB]
Citation: North Central Region 197 Committee on Agricultural Safety and Health. 2003. National land grant research and extension agenda for agricultural safety and health. ISU Reference No. EDC-292. 18 pp. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University.

NCT-177 Minutes
March 1999
November 1999
NCR-197 origination proposal

NCR-197 Minutes
November 2000
January 2002
November 2002
November 2003

NCR-197 SAES-422 Reports
January 2, 2003

Agriculture and mining are the two most hazardous industries in the U.S. with 22 and 24 deaths per 100,000 workers respectively, compared to an average of 4 deaths per 100,000 workers for all industries. Agriculture, however, has 5 times as many fatalities annually as mining since there are substantially more workers in agriculture than mining. Agriculture’s ranking as one of the two most hazardous industries has resulted in significant media attention and pressure by safety advocates, farm worker organizations and others on farmers, farm equipment manufacturers, and those agencies considered responsible for the safety and health of agricultural workers and farm families to improve the safety record for agriculture. Human capital is the most valuable resource in agriculture, and the need to protect this resource is paramount.

For the past 10 years, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has been providing approximately $20 million in annual appropriations primarily for surveillance and epidemiological research of farm injuries and illnesses. According to a recent survey funded by NIOSH and conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, about 200,000 work-related injuries occurred on U.S. farms in 1993. Various studies have also shown that farmers and farm workers suffer from high rates of respiratory diseases, cumulative trauma disorders, amputations, noise induced hearing loss, skin disorders, certain cancers, heat-related illnesses, and chemical exposures.

Ongoing research and surveillance are yielding the scientific basis that supports the need for more effective and extensive interventions. The agricultural industry is in need of economical and viable means to reduce the occupational injury and illness risk among farm workers. While NIOSH has the expertise to support surveillance and epidemiological research, they have limited expertise of agricultural systems and rural information dissemination, and they lack the networking capability that will yield economically viable solutions to agricultural safety and health issues that will be broadly adopted by the agricultural industry. The Agricultural Experiment Stations and Cooperative Extension System have expertise in agricultural systems and agricultural safety and health issues but lack the coordinating structure a multi-state research committee could provide in identification and coordination of research and extension priorities.

New technical approaches to hazard reduction in conjunction with ongoing education efforts are necessary to improve agricultural injury and illness prevention. Research disciplines associated with land grant institutions, (e.g., agricultural/biological systems engineering, animal and agronomic sciences, agricultural economics, rural sociology, child development, and others) are critical to the advancement of safety interventions and socially/economically acceptable systems that will reduce or eliminate occupational safety and health hazards. This committee augments the NCRA crosscutting research area of social change and development. It also complements the NCRA objectives to determine barriers to use of appropriate technologies and to increase adoption of environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable agricultural and community practices. This committee provides a structure for gathering stakeholder input and identifying and coordinating priorities for the Agricultural Experiment Stations and Cooperative Extension systems in areas such as:

• Applying ergonomic approaches to agricultural injury control in the safe design of agricultural equipment, workplaces, and hand tools to reduce cumulative trauma disorders caused by vibration, repetitive motion, over exertion, etc.;

• Understanding the developmental characteristics of children as applied to risk-taking, parental decision-making, and injuries;

• Improving sensors and systems for the detection of toxic atmospheres in confined spaces, human presence/protection in hazardous locations, or guarding and shielding of agricultural equipment;

• Developing appropriate large animal handling systems which minimize risk of injury to humans and animals;

• Reducing exposure to dusts, micro-toxins, pesticides and other agricultural chemicals, noise, etc. that present an occupational health hazard in the agricultural workplace; and

• Understanding the limiting economic and social factors that impact agricultural producer and worker risk-taking and decision-making.

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Revised:July 2003.

Measuring the apparent coefficient of friction of grain

Researching injuries associated with grain augers

Investigating lighting and marking of agricultural vehicles on public roadways