"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.
![](../images/farm_warning.jpg)
[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.
[Joan
Crabb] |