UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- In 2003, 31 people died of injuries suffered in farm-related incidents in Pennsylvania. As the agricultural community prepares to observe National Farm Safety and Health Week, Sept. 19-25, a farm safety specialist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences reminds farm workers and residents that most farm injuries and deaths are preventable.

"Farm safety is a management issue," says Dennis Murphy, Distinguished Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. "Managing farm safety and health requires a proactive stance toward the elimination, prevention and control of work-related hazards and risk.

"In addition to fatalities, the estimated number of temporary lost-time work injuries on Pennsylvania farms is nearly 5,000 annually," Murphy says. "The estimated annual economic toll of these injuries to Pennsylvanians and the rural economy is well over $153 million."

The 31 farm-related deaths in the state last year was an increase from 2002's 20 fatalities and was slightly higher than the five-year annual average of 29.4 since 1999. Nationally, between 700 and 800 farmers are killed each year, and about 100 of those deaths involve children aged 19 and younger.

"A positive trend in Pennsylvania is that only three children under the age of 10 died on farms last year," says Murphy. "That's down from five in 2002 and eight in 2001."

At the other end of the age spectrum, about one-third of the state's 2003 farm fatalities involved people aged 65 and over. "In other industries -- particularly in hazardous industries -- people at that age have retired," he says. "But farmers often don't fully retire."

Historically, about half of Pennsylvania's farm fatalities involve tractors, and 2003 was no exception. Many tractor-related injuries and deaths are caused by roll-overs, and Murphy believes that a contributing factor is the lack of roll-over protective structures, or ROPS. Yet the presence of a ROPS, combined with proper seatbelt use, can dramatically reduce the chance of injury and death due to roll-overs.

"The average age of tractors in Pennsylvania is 25 or 26 years, and many tractors that age have no ROPS," he explains. "Tractors older than that often can't even be retro-fitted with ROPS. A national study showed that Northeast states have the highest percentage of tractors without ROPS compared to other regions. That probably stems from the fact that our farms tend to be smaller than those in other regions, and we have a less robust farm economy, so many farmers here tend to hold on to older equipment as long as they can."

Although hazards abound on farms, says Murphy, injury is not inevitable if risks are identified and proper precautions are taken. "There are a number of areas on a farm that easily can be made safer with a little effort and investment."

For more information, including free fact sheets on various aspects of farm safety and health, contact your county Penn State Cooperative Extension office or visit the Penn State Agricultural Safety and Health site on the Web at http://www.abe.psu.edu/extension/agsafety/index.htm.

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EDITORS: Contact Dennis Murphy at 814-865-7157. If he can't be reached, contact Aaron Yoder, instructor in agricultural and biological engineering, at 814-863-8124.

For more news from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, visit http://aginfo.psu.edu.

Writer/Editor: Chuck Gill Office 814-863-2713 FAX 814-863-9877