FARM FATALITIES FALL NATIONALLY TO LOWEST LEVEL IN PAST DECADE

Agriculture-related death statistics have changed little in Missouri over the past decade. Thirty-three fatal farm accidents were reported last year.

"We don't have a breakout on counties," said David Baker, a University of Missouri Extension safety specialist. "But statewide, from 28 to 35 deaths a year have been reported over the past 10 years."

During that same decade nearly 30 Southeast Missouri farmers have lost their lives in farm accidents, mostly involving overturned tractors.

Farm deaths were down in Illinois over the past year, following the national trend.

Some 27 agriculture-related deaths were reported in Illinois last year, down almost 40 percent from the 44 deaths recorded the previous year.

During the year, 82 agricultural accidents were reported in Illinois, resulting in 70 injuries and the 27 deaths.

Only one fatal accident was reported in the seven lower Southern Illinois counties, that in Jackson County.

Tractor rollover accidents in Missouri and Illinois were the leading causes of agriculture accidents.

Agriculture deaths plunged nationally in 1994, to their lowest level of the past 10 years.

The farming business is becoming safer nationally, said Baker. "But safety education efforts must be continued."

Bob Aherin, a University of Illinois extension safety specialist, said that in the 1960s the death rate was about 60 per 100,000 workers. Now it's 26 per 100,000, according to the National Safety Council.

Still, about 900 farmers, ranchers and others involved in agriculture died on the job in 1994. Another 140,000 suffered disabling injuries. These numbers, say Aherin and Baker, do not include the estimated 300 children under the age of 14 killed in agriculture-related accidents.

Agriculture dropped from the No. 1 position in death rate statistics last year, but just barely.

"Agriculture has been in the No. 1 or 2 position over the past 10 years, including 1994," said Baker. The national drop in 1994 left farm-related deaths at No. 2, behind mining and quarrying, ranked as the deadliest occupation in 1994, with a death rate of 26 deaths per 100,000 workers.

The agriculture death rate has been dropping over the years, from 60 per 100,000 in the 1960s to 49 in 1984 and 26 a decade later.

"Consistent education efforts and messages have made farmers and ranchers more aware of the dangers in their profession," said Larry Williams, a safety education specialist with the Country Companies insurance group of Bloomington, Ill. "The drop in the number of agriculture deaths is encouraging, but we must continue to stress safety. There are still too many people dying on America's farms and ranches."

Farm insurance companies like the Country Companies, Farm Bureau Insurance Services and others actively work to offer help in sponsoring agriculture safety programs and to make farm producers aware of hazards on the farms.

In some cases, people who work on the farm overlook some subtle hazards on farmsteads, say Aherin and Iowa State University extension safety specialist Chuck Schwab.

Farm-family members who work around machinery daily know that one slip can mean loss of life or a limb, but other slips and falls are second to machinery in causing injuries. Schwab and Aherin said everyone in the family should take careful looks around during daily chores to identify hazardous equipment.

People don't usually hear about the slips and falls, so they oftentimes don't associate them with big dangers, said Aherin. But it is a good idea to check ladders before using, clean up slippery grain, and keep workshops clean and uncluttered. Farmers should also be wary of silo and manure pit gases, which can be fatal to people working in them with inadequate oxygen.

Tractor rollover accidents cause more than 50 percent of all tractor-related farm fatalities, said the National Safety Council. Rollbars and seat belts are standing equipment on many new tractors, and factory-made rollbars and seat belts are available for older tractors.