There are many risks that you may not initially recognize within the farming and agricultural industry. When someone says “farming accident,” you probably don’t think transportation accident as your first thought or accident type. You probably didn’t know that agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries in the United States. In fact, farm workers are not the most at risk in the agricultural industry.
The farming industry is actually one of very few industries where people who live on the farm or land have greater risk of injury, this becomes especially true if the farm owners actually work the farm. The risks are great, specifically when it comes to farming vehicles such as tractors.
If you live in rural eastern North Carolina, odds are you see farming equipment on the main roads regularly. But, did you know that transportation accidents and tractor overturns are at the top of the list for leading causes of death? Farmers and farm workers who drive tractors and other farming equipment can prevent accidents and even deaths. One way they can prevent rollover accidents or deaths is by utilizing rollover protective rollover structures and seatbelts. Only about half of all tractors on farms have these systems in place to protect their drivers.
There are over 2,000,000 full-time agricultural workers in the United States. Furthermore, there are about 900,000 people under the age of 20 who live on farms and approximately half of those work on the farm. There are roughly 20 deaths per every 100,000 workers, and some of those deaths involve heavy farm equipment and transportation vehicles.
This blog is for informational purposes only. More information on the risks in the agricultural industry can be found here.