COLLEGE STATION — The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is supporting the efforts of National Farm Safety and Health Week, Sept. 21-27, by offering an array of informational and educational materials relating to agricultural safety.
Farm safety week is promoted through the 10 U.S. agricultural centers funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For information on National Farm Safety and Health Week, go to http://www.necasag.org/.
“It may not be the most dangerous of jobs, but as much of modern farming has become heavily mechanized, it certainly has its risks,” said Ryan Gerlich, an AgriLife Extension specialist in biological and agricultural engineering based in College Station.
Gerlich said the AgriLife Extension Farm and Ranch Safety Program has information to meet many of the same agricultural safety goals emphasized and promoted through National Farm Safety and Health Week.
“The Farm and Ranch Safety Program is committed to providing educational programs that explain the dangers of the agricultural industry and those steps that can be taken to prevent injury,” he said.
Gerlich said various informational and educational materials, including safety fact sheets, materials on tractor and machinery safety, and materials on agricultural chemical and pesticide safety, can be found at http://agsafety.tamu.edu/farm-and-ranch-safety/
According to statistics, there are approximately 250 farm fatalities in the U.S. annually involving tractors alone.
“Rollovers, run-overs, entanglement, and highway collisions involving agricultural tractors account for these fatalities,” Gerlich said. “Rollovers account for more than 50 percent of all tractor-related fatalities.”
Most of these fatalities could be prevented by following simple precautions, he said. As for the unavoidable rollover, rollbars are available for all models of tractors. Usually, the cost is less than $1,000.
“That’s still much cheaper than an emergency room visit or the other outcome,” Gerlich said.
Run-overs, including that of operators and bystanders, account for 24 percent of tractor fatalities, he said. Collisions on public roadways cause 20 percent of fatalities, and entanglements with power takeoffs and drivelines are about 4 percent.
Gerlich said in addition to tractor driving safety and tractor rollover and run-over prevention, other agriculture-related safety issues addressed through the site include ATV safety, barn storage safety, chain saw safety, farm safety inspections, working in hot environments, fuel safety, hearing protection, manure storage, and senior farmer safety.
The site also has fact sheets with statistics on Texas agricultural fatalities, as well as U.S. agricultural fatalities and nationwide stats on accidental deaths, he said. There also is information on round baler safety and skid-steer safety, plus general safety tips and links to the National Safety Council – Texas Safety Association, the AgriLife Extension Disaster Education Network, National Agricultural Safety Database and Texas AgrAbility program.
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