How Can Agriculture Match the Safety Record of Other Industries?
In 2020, there were 481 fatal farm injuries and over 110,000 injuries in the U.S. The “rate” of fatal injuries was 20.5 per 100,000 workers. Of the more than 80 million U.S. annual passengers who flew on commercial airlines each year in recent years, nobody has died because of an "accident." If airplane passengers died at the same rate as farmers and hired workers, we would see over 16,000 fatalities a year. Can you imagine the outcry? In agriculture, we can and should do better. More info here...
Current State Requirements are Not Enough for Highway Safety
Current state requirements for farm tractor and machinery (IoH) marking and lighting are simply not enough. Contrary to current nationally-recognized ASABE engineering safety standards, WI does not require turn indicators and other important features. Data on WI farm work-related deaths include a number of highway fatalities. Federal regulations cover post mid-2017 machines, but Wisconsin's baseline requirements for most pre-2017 are quite different. More info here....
How Stress Clouds Decision Making (and What to Do About It)
The farm stress response is REAL! Acute stress can throw us into a tizzy or creates a sense of panic or fear. These times also make thinking through what to do and how to act very difficult in the moment. This article has two parts. First, why does that happen? And, second, using that information, what can we do, especially when you need to make complex daily decisions as a result of the farm we operate, the business we own, the work we’re employed in, or our role as a parent or caregiver.