In 1943, University of Wisconsin Extension Safety Specialists began compiling an annual Wisconsin Farm-Related Fatality Report. Unfortunately, every year Wisconsin’s agricultural community continues to suffer the loss of individuals who are engaged in farm work or a member of a family farm.
Starting in 2020, the National Farm Medicine Center partnered with the University of Wisconsin Extension Safety Specialists to continue to compile these reports. Scott Heiberger, Communications Manager of the National Farm Medicine Center, shares more on the Wisconsin Farm Fatality Report and how things are looking.
“Someone working in agriculture is eight times more likely to die on the job than the average worker,” says Heiberger.
One thing different that the National Farm Medicine Center does is include roadway incidents and fatalities in their research. Their research shows that in two years almost a third of fatalities were roadway crashes.
Heiberger adds, “Preliminary data for the last three years shows that there were 36 crashes on Wisconsin roadways and 60 people were injured or killed. As farmers have to be on the road more with the way agriculture has developed, tractor and roadway accidents are two of the biggest areas of concern for farm fatalities.”
The National Farm Medicine Center has put together an injury database called aginjurynews.com. This website is free and open to the public. It runs on over four hundred agriculture injury news reports from around the country. Those who wish to use it can sort the research by filtering in different ways including by state, age, and equipment involved.
“We also get data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, so that combination gives us accurate research of agriculture fatality numbers in Wisconsin,” contributes Heiberger.
Heiberger credits Bryan Weichelt, Ph.D., an associate research scientist with the National Farm Medicine Center and John Shutske, Professor and Director of the UW Center for Agricultural Safety and Health, for their work gathering content for the report.
Heiberger says that Shutske encourages:
- Upgrading and fully maintaining up-to-date lighting and marking systems including incorporating lighting/marking technologies now-mandated through national safety standards.
- Avoiding roadway travel during low light and/or high traffic conditions.
- Installing ROPS and seat belts on tractors.
- Providing much-needed training, demonstration and other safety education to all who work on the farm – regardless of experience level or background.
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