Extension Communications
3614 Administrative Services Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3614
(515) 294-9915
1/11/99
Contacts:
Charles Schwab, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering,
(515) 294-6360
Mary Harlan, Iowa Department of Public Health, (515)
242-6336
Beating the Trend: A Look at Farm Safety
AMES, Iowa--The latest report of Iowa farm injuries and fatalities shows that Iowans are making headway in safety but at a snail's pace, according to an Iowa State University Extension safety specialist.
The information, recently compiled and released by the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), showed that 49 people died and another 1,980 were injured in 1997. These figures compare to 47 fatalities and 1,950 injuries in 1996.
"We're not at the same point we were several years ago when nearly twice as many people died and more people had injuries that needed medical attention, but we're not going down much either," said Charles Schwab, ISU agricultural and biosystems engineering professor who also tracks farm injuries. "We've been seeing a downward trend over the years, but it's more like treading water when you look at the personal impact of any serious injury."
Since 1990, the IDPH has compiled reports of farm-related injuries. Although collection methods have changed since 1990, approximately 125 hospitals were part of the state's reporting network in 1997. These figures do not include minor injuries treated at home or long-term health problems caused by exposure to things such as pesticides, dust or the sun. However, they do provide a baseline against which to measure long-term trends or confirm suspected changes.
"As long as we've been receiving these reports there has been no change in the number one killer on Iowa farms -- tractors," Schwab said. "The top three causes of injury--machinery, animals and slips and falls -- also have remained fairly constant."
Schwab said they're still seeing a spat of injuries during June and July when a lot of odd jobs are done on the farm such as mowing ditches with older utility tractors that have no rollover protection. The other predictable spike occurs in October, with 294 injuries (15 percent of the total), when farmers are busy getting out their crops.
"The area with the most room for improvement would be injuries involving children," he added. "We had seven kids under age 15 die on the farm, and 434 injured under age 20 were injured in 1997. That's 22 percent of all injuries, 57 percent that happened when they were doing farm work. These numbers are slowly going down, but they're still unacceptable as far as I'm concerned."
Farm injury and fatality information also is available by county from ISU Extension. For copies of reports going back to 1990, check the Web at http://www.ae.iastate.edu.
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