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Playing it Safe Farmers in a risky business [FEB. 28, 2000] On any list of hazardous occupations, farming comes in either first or second, says John Fulton, unit leader of the Logan County University of Illinois Extension Unit. Powerful farm machinery and potentially dangerous chemicals are the two big reasons farming is a risky occupation. Fulton says the biggest safety issue, and one that will be facing everyone who uses rural roads now that warm weather is coming, is the clash of farm and non-farm vehicles. Slow, oversized farm machines and motorists who don’t understand them can become a deadly combination.
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"A few years ago, almost everybody spent time on a farm. Today there are many people living in rural areas who don’t farm and who may not know tractors go only 15 to 20 miles an hour," he said. "We’ve had incidents where motorists literally plowed into the back of farm vehicles because they didn’t understand how big they were and how slowly they were going." For the safety of both farmers and motorists, all farm vehicles must display the orange triangular slow-moving vehicle emblem where it is clearly visible from the rear. A new high-visibility reflective tape being promoted by farm organizations can renovate older signs and make them more easily seen in low light conditions. Logan County has 511 full-time farmers working more than 380,000 acres of ground, according to Fulton, and if the weather continues to be warm these farmers will be traveling rural roads with cultivators and plows to get fields ready for planting. Planting season normally runs from mid-April until the first of June. At harvest time in September and October, farmers will again be moving big, heavy machinery. Only this time they will be driving combines from field to field along rural roads.
[Farm equipment like this planter that will be traveling rural roads must display the triangular slow moving vehicle emblem to alert motorists to slow down.]
"Farm vehicles are legal on anything but controlled access highways," Fulton pointed out. "But farmers don’t usually like traveling busy roads, and I know some who go miles out of their way to avoid them. They will usually give motorists all the help they can by pulling over to the side and signaling when it is safe to pass." Although it is motorists who are in the most danger in farm and non-farm vehicle collisions, heavy machinery has other hazards for farmers. Tractor tip-over is a common farm accident that can sometimes be fatal, as it was in the Jan. 13 death of farm worker Douglas W. Lahr of Lincoln. Lahr was working on a rural Emden farm when the accident occurred. Tip-over occurs most often when tractors are used on uneven terrain, Fulton said. Cutting grass along roadside ditches is a particularly hazardous job, but if the grass is not kept mowed, motorists will not be able to see traffic approaching at rural intersections. New tractors now have roll bars, called Roll Over Protectant Structures (ROPS) to keep the driver from being crushed if the tractor tips over, but many farmers are still using older tractors which do not have such equipment. One of the worst mechanical hazards is a tractor’s power take-off shaft, according to Fulton. This shaft allows farmers to use the tractor motor to provide power to equipment such as grain augurs, manure spreaders and mowers. The shaft spins at 500 revolutions per minute and can catch a hand, a foot, a sleeve or a pant leg in its rotation, causing serious injury or even death. Chemicals used in today’s agriculture can also cause health hazards, both for farmers and the environment around them. Today, farmers who want to apply certain restricted products must be must licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture. To receive the license, they must pass a test to prove they know how to handle the chemicals safely. This year the Logan County Extension Unit conducted two training courses in pesticide use. One hundred forty-five area farmers attended the session.
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Some insecticides, especially those used at planting time to control rootworm, are so toxic that inhaling too much dust can kill a mature man, Fulton said. Manufacturers have produced a "low dust" formulation to make the chemical safer. The latest safety precaution is a prepackaged "lock and load" product that can go right into planter boxes without having to be opened by the farmer. Other pesticides, such as synthetic pyrethroids, are extremely toxic to fish if sprayed over open ponds and streams. While most insecticides are insoluble and stay where they are put in the soil, some, such as atrazine, move from the soil into streams and rivers. This presents problems for communities, which get their water supply from surface water, rather than from deep wells. Springfield, which gets water from Lake Springfield, now has a big atrazine removal project underway to make the water supply meet environmental protection standards. Education is the key to using these products safely, and Fulton urges farmers to read the labels on farm chemicals carefully and follow instructions exactly. This might mean wearing waterproof gloves and other protective clothing, not spraying on windy days when the chemical can drift, keeping the product away from pets and children, and knowing the symptoms of pesticide poisoning. "Applying these chemicals correctly is both for their protection and ours," he stated. Farmers should take other safety precautions too, says Dayle Eldredge of the Healthy Communities Partnership (HCP). Through the Rural Health Partnership, one of three task forces under HCP, she gives presentations on farm safety. She urges farmers to get tetanus shots, to let someone else know where they will be at all times and to be sure they know the correct 911 designations of each location where they will be working so they can get help quickly if an accident occurs. "Keep your cell phone on your body, not in your vehicle, when you are working in the fields," she tells them. "Otherwise it is no help if you are pinned under the tractor." She also recommends farmers carry a first aid kit, which should include antibiotic cream, tape, bandages, ice and plastic bags. If a hand or finger is severed by a tool such as the power take-off shaft, preserving the part can make it possible for surgeons to reattach it successfully. For farmers who are unlucky enough to be disabled by a farm accident or illness, a program called Agrability Unlimited, sponsored by the University of Illinois Extension and Easter Seals, can help, Eldredge said. Farmers may receive rehabilitation services or may get help modifying equipment, such as putting a lift on a tractor, so they can continue to live productive lives.
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