The objectives of the survey were to identify: 1) farm activities most frequently resulting in injuries; 2) high risk groups with regard to farm accidents; and 3) hazards associated with using tractors without rollover protective structures ( ROPS).
The results of this survey provided a basis for developing effective agricultural safety programs directed toward a reduction in farm related injuries, illness and fatalities. The results of the survey were also provided to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for inclusion in their national survey data base.
Return to Table of Contents
The response to the survey was relatively low. Of the 1,520 survey forms sent, 915 were returned. This represented about 60% of the sample. However, only 695 of the 915 returned surveys were usable. The responses of the other 220 returned forms were as follows:
| Farm rented out | 56 |
| Retired | 55 |
| Not completed | 32 |
| Deceased | 18 |
| Farm had been sold | 18 |
| Farm idle | 16 |
| Refused to participate | 6 |
| No longer farming | 5 |
The usable response rate for the survey was approximately 46%. The reluctance of farmers to disclose accident information may have been a factor in the low response rate. In addition, the timing of the survey may also have contributed to the low return rate. The Virginia survey was conducted in late April and early May, which probably conflicted with normal spring field work for most Virginia farms.
Return to Table of Contents
Return to Table of Contents
Return to Table of Contents
Among the 695 respondents, 40 reported one injury and five reported two injuries during the period of 1990. This resulted in a total of 50 injuries, with one being a fatality. Since the survey only requested injury information for the most recent accident, descriptive injury data were obtained for 45 of the 50 injuries. Among the injuries, 40 were reported as work related and one as leisure or recreation related. The classifications of the other four injuries were not specified. Assuming all unknown injuries were work related, a total of 49 work related injuries were reported in the survey. The injury rate, i.e., the number of work related injuries (49) divided by the number of farms (695), was calculated as 0.07 work injuries per farm. In other words, seven percent of the farmers surveyed experienced at least one work- related injury in 1990. Because of suspected under-reporting, this injury rate probably represents the lower bounds for the actual rate of work injuries occurring during 1990.
On a statistical basis, this represents one injury per every 14 farms in 1990. A total of 1.90 million hours of exposure to farm work was reported in the survey. Family members accounted for 64.4% or 1.22 million hours, and hired workers accounted for 35.6% or 0.68 million hours. Injury rates, per million hours of work exposure, for family members and hired workers were calculated. Twenty-eight of the work- related injuries were identified as having occurred to family members and 19 to hired workers. The injury rate for family members was 22.9 injuries per million hours of work exposure. The rate for hired workers was 27.9 per million hours of farm work.
Return to Table of Contents
Table 1. Injuries by Age Groups
| Age group | % of injuries |
| Under 15 | 0.0 |
| 15 to 24 | 13.6 |
| 25 to 44 | 20.5 |
| 45 to 64 | 29.5 |
| 65 & over | 13.6 |
| Unknown | 22.7 |
Analyzing the injury data by month revealed that November was the top month for injuries, accounting for 17.5% of the total injuries, as shown in Table 2. June and September had the next highest number of injuries, each accounting for 12.5% of reported injuries reported. Few injuries occurred during the period from February to May. Further examination of the accident descriptions disclosed that many injuries occurring in the winter months were associated with harvesting fire wood and using hand and power tools.
Table 2. Month Injury Occurred
| Month | % of injuries |
| January | 7.5 |
| February | 2.5 |
| February | 2.5 |
| April | 10.0 |
| May | 2.5 |
| June | 12.5 |
| July | 10.0 |
| August | 7.5 |
| September | 12.5 |
| October | 7.5 |
| November | 17.5 |
| December | 7.5 |
The severity of injury data indicate that 85% of the injuries required medical attention and 12.5% of the injuries resulted in restricted activities. One fatality was reported from the survey due to a tractor overturn. A total of 561 lost workdays were reported as a result of 38 work-related injuries. Nearly two-thirds of the injuries resulted in at least one full day of lost time. Thirty-two percent of the cases involved six or more lost workdays. The maximum number of lost workdays reported in the survey was 120. Time lost per injury averaged 15 workdays. Table 3 lists the number and percentage of injuries by the number of lost workdays.
Table 3. Lost Workdays Due to Injury
| Lost workdays | Number | Percentage |
| less than one | 15 | 34.1 |
| one to five | 9 | 20.5 |
| six to ten | 4 | 9.1 |
| 11 to 20 | 4 | 9.1 |
| 21 to 50 | 3 | 6.8 |
| over 50 | 3 | 6.8 |
| Unknown | 6 | 13.6 |
The nature of injuries is displayed in Table 4. Cuts were the most common injury, accounting for about 27% of the total injuries. Sprains/strains and fractures were the next two most common types of injuries, resulting in 15.9% and 13.6% of the total injuries, respectively.
Table 4. Nature of Injury
| Nature of injury | % of injuries |
| Amputation | 2.3 |
| Bruise | 6.8 |
| Burn | 2.3 |
| Cut | 27.3 |
| Crushed/mangled | 4.5 |
| Fracture | 13.6 |
| Puncture | 9.1 |
| Sprain/strain | 15.9 |
| Multiple injury | 6.8 |
| Other/unknown | 11.4 |
Table 5 gives work injury by part of the body. The hand/wrist was the most frequently injured body part, accounting for about 18% of the injuries. The leg/ knee was injured next most frequently and accounted for 15.9% of the injuries. Then, the arm/shoulder and finger follow, each with 13.6% of the total injuries. The back accounted for another 11.4% of the injuries.
Table 5. Work Injury by Body Part
| Body part | % of injuries |
| Hand/wrist | 18.2 |
| Leg/knee | 15.9 |
| Arm/shoulder | 13.6 |
| Finger | 13.6 |
| Back | 11.4 |
| Foot | 6.8 |
| Multiple | 6.8 |
| Head/neck | 4.5 |
| Eye | 2.3 |
| Chest/trunk | 2.3 |
| Other/unknown | 4.5 |
Information about work injuries by type of accident is presented in Table 6. Contact with a sharp object was the most common type of accident occurring on Virginia farms. These accounted for about 20% of the total injuries. Another 20% of the injuries were caused by one of the "struck by" categories. The "caught" type of accidents were responsible for 16% of the injuries. Falls resulted in approximately 9% of the injuries.
Table 6. Work Injuries by Accident Type
| Type of Accident | % of Injuries |
| Contact with sharp object | 20.5 |
| Struck by or against object | 11.4 |
| Struck by flying object | 6.8 |
| Struck by falling object | 2.3 |
| Caught between objects | 9.1 |
| Caught under object | 4.5 |
| Caught in object | 2.3 |
| Fall from elevation | 6.8 |
| Fall from same level | 2.3 |
| Overexertion | 6.8 |
| Other/unknown | 27.3 |
Return to Table of Contents
Animals were found to be the leading cause of accidents to Virginia farm workers with about 18% of the injuries, as shown in Table 7. Agricultural machinery (excluding farm tractors) was the second most prominent cause of injuries, accounting for 16% of the injuries. Hand and powered tools were responsible for about 18% of the injuries. Another 11.4% of the injuries were attributed to the working surface (ground, floor, etc.). Tractors caused only 6.8% of the total injuries. However, injuries involving tractors were much more severe than other injuries. The one fatality reported in the survey was associated with a tractor overturn. The average of workdays lost for other tractor-related injuries was 60 days, the highest among all injury sources. In conclusion, farm tractors, animals, agricultural machinery and equipment, and liquid (including water, manure, etc.) caused the most workdays lost due to work-related injuries on Virginia farms. A study by Hetzel et al. (1991) on the death certificate data for Virginia farm workers revealed that agricultural machinery, including tractors, was responsible for over 50% of the fatal accidents for the period from 1975 through 1989.
Table 7. Major Causes of Accidents and Average Workdays Lost| Cause | No. | % injuries | Average workdays lost |
| Animals | 8 | 18.2 | 40.86 |
| Machinery | 7 | 15.9 | 10.00 |
| Work surface | 5 | 11.4 | 0.75 |
| Hand tools | 5 | 11.4 | 4.80 |
| Power tools | 3 | 6.8 | 0.67 |
| Tractors | 3 | 6.8 | 60.00 |
| Plant/tree | 3 | 6.8 | 1.00 |
| Liquid | 3 | 6.8 | 12.33 |
| Chemicals | 1 | 2.3 | 0.00 |
| Other/unknown | 6 | 13.6 | 6.50 |
The type of work being performed when an injury occurred is tabulated in Table 8. Livestock treatment or handling was the most common activity performed when injuries occurred, resulting in nearly one-third of the total injuries. Persons engaged in field work and machinery maintenance experienced the next highest percentage of injuries, each accounting for 11.4 percent of the total injuries. Another 27% of the injuries resulted from "other" kinds of agricultural activities.
Table 8. Activity When Injured
| Activity | % of injuries |
| Livestock handling | 31.8 |
| Field work | 11.4 |
| Machinery maintenance | 11.4 |
| Building maintenance | 9.1 |
| Routine chores | 4.5 |
| Other | 27.3 |
| Unknown | 4.5 |
Return to Table of Contents
Table 9. Tractor Rollover Protection
| Rollover protection | % of tractors |
| None | 69.8 |
| ROPS | 15.6 |
| Cab | 12.0 |
| Unknown | 2.6 |
Of the 620 respondents that provided tractor information, only 240 reported that at least one tractor on the farm was equipped with some type of ROPS. The remaining 380 farms used tractors that had no ROPS/protective cabs at all.
Hours of tractor use revealed that, on average, tractors without ROPS were used about 290 hours per year. Tractors with ROPS averaged approximately 330 hours of use. Tractors equipped with cab type ROPS were used about 450 hours. However, the total hours of use for tractors without ROPS (280,000 hours) were 85% higher than those for tractors with ROPS or cabs (148,000 hours) because the majority of tractors used on Virginia farms were not equipped with ROPS or protective cabs. Table 10 shows the average annual hours of tractor use by kind of rollover protection.
Table 10. Average Yearly Hours of Tractor Use by Rollover Protection Status
| Rollover Protection | Number of Tractors | Average Hours of Tractor Use |
| None | 972 | 288 |
| ROPS | 218 | 332 |
| Cab | 167 | 453 |
| Unknown | 36 | 297 |
Based on the authors' information, some 10 to 20 people lose their lives each year in Virginia as a result of tractor overturns. Most of those fatalities occurred to older farm workers, probably because they were more likely to use old tractors that had no rollover protection. Three tractor overturns were reported from this survey, and one of them caused a fatality. The hazards resulting from using tractors without ROPS are very evident.
Return to Table of Contents
Recommendations:
A number of recommendations follow regarding action that can be undertaken to reduce the number of injuries occurring on farms in Virginia:
This publication was prepared with support from CDC/NIOSH grant number UOS/CCU 306075-03.
Glen H. Hetzel and Wei Zhao; Agricultural Engineering Department,
Virginia Tech
October 1996
Disclaimer and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission of the author and/or copyright holder. More
