UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Of the 34 people who died on Pennsylvania farms in 2001, eight were children age 9 and under, and that's an unacceptable statistic, according to a safety expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

"Even one fatal farm accident involving a child is too many," says Dennis Murphy, distinguished professor of agricultural engineering. "The number of fatalities has been pretty stable the past few years, but last year the number of fatal accidents involving young children was sharply higher."

In 2000, 32 people died in Pennsylvania farm accidents, compared to 30 in 1999, 45 in 1998, 45 in 1997 and 44 in 1996.

"The trend has been toward fewer fatal accidents until the number of fatalities rose slightly the past two years," says Murphy. "Changes in statistics year to year are difficult to attribute to any one cause. Whether that trend will continue, I just don't know."

In the last few decades, as the number of people working on farms has dropped, equipment has become safer and safety education has become more readily available to farmers, the number of fatal accidents has dropped dramatically. By far the most common fatal accidents on Pennsylvania farms involve tractors--nine people died in tractor-related accidents in 2001.

"2001 was a particularly bad year for very young children on the farmstead," Murphy says. "It points out that parents can never let down their guard or relax in protecting their children on the farm. It's hard to understand because there are more youth farm-safety programs than ever. Six of the fatal accidents involved children age 4 and under, and kids that young normally aren't working."

Among Pennsylvania fatal farm accidents involving children, a 3-year-old boy fell from a front-end loader, an 8-year-old girl was killed in an unspecified circumstance, a 2-year-old boy was run over by a plowing disk, a 1-year-old boy fell into a manure gutter and asphyxiated, a 4-year-old boy suffocated while playing in a feed bin, a 2-year-old boy fell out of a moving wagon and was hit by a wheel, a 1-year-old boy was hit by a forklift and an 8-year-old boy fell from a horse and was dragged about half a mile.

Ten of the 34 deaths last year on Pennsylvania farms involved people age 65 to 79. But that's not unusual, according to Murphy. "Farmers often don't retire; they just keep working as long as they can," he says. "Other industries don't have those older age groups working, so fatal accidents among seniors is mostly peculiar to agriculture."

Some months are more dangerous than others working on the farm -- the months when most work is done. In 2001, six people died in June, five in July and five in September.

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EDITORS: Contact Dennis Murphy at 814-865-7157 or e-mail djm379@psu.edu.

Contact: Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-865-1068 fax #234