HARVESTING SAFETY: FARMING RANKS AMONG TOP HAZARDOUS OCCUPATIONS

It is an indescribable feeling:

You are driving a tractor when the back wheel suddenly starts sinking in a hole. Your heart wells up in your throat as the tractor starts to roll. Luckily, you safely leap from the seat.

But you may not be as fortunate the next time.

No matter how careful people are, accidents happen, and tractor rollovers account for more than 50 percent of all tractor-related accidents on the farm. It is a statistic that has remained constant for more than 50 years.

Farming ranks near the top of the most dangerous occupations in the nation, alternating with mining and construction. In some years agriculture ranks at the top. That was the case in 1993, when it was identified as the most hazardous industry in the nation by the National Safety Council. The agriculture fatality rate that year was 44 deaths per 100,000 workers.

More than 130,000 agricultural injuries and more than 1,000 farm deaths are reported each year. They involve more than 3.1 million men and women who work on 2.3 million farms in the U.S.

In Missouri, more than 4,500 lost-time injuries and 35 to 40 farm deaths a year are reported. During a recent five-year farm-accident survey, Illinois recorded an average of almost 100 farm accidents and 30 fatalities a year.

"Safety and Health: The First Step Toward Sustainable Agriculture" is the theme of the 54th annual National Safety and Health Week Sunday through Sept. 27.

The majority of agricultural fatalities occur in the production of crops and raising of livestock. The majority of machinery and equipment farm accidents, lost-time injuries and fatalities occur in the spring and fall.

The most injuries in Missouri during recent years were reported during harvest time, September in particular, when almost 20 percent of accidents occur, said Marlowe Schlegel, statistician for the Missouri Agriculture Statistics Service of the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

June through July and September through October are high-accident months, said Jerry Tuschhoff, service manager at Heuer Sons Implement Co., a Cape Girardeau farm-machinery dealer. Tractor rollovers and PTO accidents are most numerous, especially during harvest time, he said. The PTO, short for power take-off shaft, turns at more than 500 revolutions a minute.

"Farmers should keep the PTOs covered," said Tuschhoff. "A lot of accidents happen when farmers try to clear a PTO when it has become jammed."

Studies at the University of Kentucky show that a spinning PTO shaft can entangle and tear clothing at a rate of 5 to 7 feet per second.

"This is the harvest season," said Carol Raines of Crown Equipment Co., 2980 Old Orchard Road, a farm-machinery dealer. "It's especially important that equipment be up to snuff," said Raines.

That means guards should be in place, rollover bars should be on tractors, and anyone who plans to use equipment should be trained to do so.

In a recent joint effort, a number of leading tractor companies are working together to encourage tractor owners to have their older tractors equipped with rollover protective structures and seat belts.

"There are a lot of older tractors out there," said Tuschhoff. "We do encourage people to install the rollover bars and seat belts."

There is no reason to ever go near a powered PTO shaft, say safety experts.

Other safety measures for farm equipment include "slow-moving" emblems and working lights on equipment, said Schlegal. Many deaths result from vehicles colliding with farm equipment.

A Missouri Department of Agriculture survey reveals that the most common accidents are tractor rollovers when more than one person is aboard.

Missouri loses 35 to 45 farmers every year from tractor overturns, highway crashes with farm machinery, machinery entanglement, chain-saw accidents and electrocutions on the farm.

"Following good safety practices should be a round-the-clock part of everyday farm life for the whole family," said Schlegel.

Studies from a recent 35-state survey on farm accidents show that seven of every 10 accidents include a male member of the family between the ages 15 and 44. Two of 10 accidents involve hired male workers. This means one of every 10 accidents involve a female.

Other findings of the Department of Agriculture survey:

-- Farm accidents are most likely to happen in a field in daylight when the temperature is 51 to 85 degrees on a clear day.

-- Hay balers cause more fatalities than any other equipment; corn pickers cause more permanent injuries.

-- Field work accounts for four of every 10 farm accidents, and machinery maintenance another three of every 10.

-- More accidents happen on Tuesdays, with the two most dangerous hours at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

-- About 300 people under the age of 20 die in agricultural accidents each year.

-- Livestock causes 19 percent of farm injuries; machinery other than tractors 15 percent; and hand tools 11 percent.