MY RURAL AMERICA‘s focus today is on rural workplaces, the safety of these places, and the people who love to farm. The danger is for farmers, the kids, and the teens living on the farm and in rural workplaces, including packing plants and repair shops.
People love to farm and live there, but danger is everywhere. I live in the city now, but I lived and worked on a farm for seventeen years. During that time, my father-in-law slipped into an open auger and lost both his legs. The auger needed a shield; everyone knew it, but no one did anything about it. After months of recovery and rehab that helped him learn to operate with artificial legs, he returned to farming, drove tractors, and do the work he loved for another decade. Driving tractor and feeding livestock were two of his favorite things.
The same year, my Dad was out mowing and lost control of a small tractor; it veered up a bank, flipped over, and killed him. And I dropped the tongue of an anhydrous tank on my foot, broke it, and spent some time managing a baby and a toddler on crutches. The foot bothers me now, but I am fine, except for the memories. I don’t miss the tractors.
These are not isolated incidents. The CDC reports: “Farming is one of the most dangerous industries in the United States. Yet injury, illness, and death on the farm are not restricted to adults. Each year, approximately 100,000 children under 20 years of age are injured on farms, and over 100 are killed.”
The CDC’s research has led to this safety program for children: CHILDHOOD AGRICULTURAL INJURY PREVENTION INITIATIVE.
MY RURAL AMERICA urges our readers to share this initiative. All too many “accidents” are happening in rural America—on the farm, in packing plants, and elsewhere.