Keeping safe on the farm
4/15/2024 by Allison Ducharme-Smith, M.D.
Being on a farm can be so much fun for families and kids, whether they live there, work there or are visiting. Farms are a great place for adventure and learning and also a common home for many of our neighbors in Minnesota. But farms are dangerous places, too, putting people at risk for injuries and even death from encounters with animals, equipment and just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Farming is ranked among the world’s most hazardous professions, with factors like long hours, little sleep and dangerous equipment adding to that risk.
- Here are just a few facts and figures to bring home the danger families face on the farm:
- About 60 million people, or 1 in 5, live in rural America and many more will visit a farm over the next year.
- Every day, about 33 children are injured in agriculture-related incidents and each year, more than 100 children are killed nationwide in farming incidents.
- Animals are the leading cause of injury, while the leading causes of death on the farm involve machinery (25%), motor vehicles — including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) (17%) and drowning (16%).
- For youth who work on a farm, tractors were the main cause of death, followed by ATVs.
It is estimated that there are over 4 times more occupational injuries than are reported.
As spring hits and the weather gets warm, activity on the farm shifts into high gear, which increases the risk of accidents and injuries. Many accidental injuries involving farm implements result in long-term disabilities like infections, amputation of extremities, loss of function, and tragically, death. A few of the most devastating farm accidents are overturned tractors, auger mutilations/amputations, grain bin suffocation, chemical poisoning and child accidents/deaths. For naturally curious children, the farm is a great big playground full of things to explore. However, they don’t recognize or understand the risks or remember the rules for situations that may arise.
With these quick tips, the farm can be a safer place to live, work and play:
- Build a safe play area for children away from the action in the farmyard.
- Fence areas with water and where animals are held. Even if the animals are seen as gentle, family pets, they’re still unpredictable animals.
- Install fall protection in haylofts.
- Keep kids away from and out of tractors. This precaution includes letting them ride in the cab.
- If children help on the farm, fit the job to the child’s age, understanding and abilities when assigning chores.
- Make wearing personal protective equipment a habit for doing farm work.
- Know when your child is capable of safely driving a tractor or ATV. There’s NO evidence that children under 12 can safely operate an ATV, which, because of their design, can be more challenging than driving a car.
- Create a list of farm rules that visitors must follow.
- Avoid doing tasks alone, such as running an auger or filling a grain bin.
- Always carry your cell phone with you, and keep it charged as much as possible.
- Get enough sleep, and eat balanced meals; hunger, dehydration and lack of sleep can affect your ability to think clearly.
If you visit a farm with your family or your children go with a group or as a guest, remember it’s your responsibility to supervise them. Stress that they follow any rules the farm family may have and listen to instructions from adults.
Living and working on a farm or just visiting is a wonderful experience. Just remember these common tips for keeping safe from accidents and injuries.
Allison Ducharme-Smith, M.D., is an internal medicine physician in the Division of Community Internal Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care and practices at Mayo Family Clinic Northeast in Rochester. She is also the Medical Director of the Good Samaritan Free Health Clinic. Her interests include preventive medicine, women's health, chronic disease management and medical education.