Aug 31, 2022

AgriSafe, other agriculture groups, promote ‘Protecting America’s Future’

Agriculture is known as one of the most dangerous industries in America.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), about 100 agricultural workers suffer a lost-work-time injury every day, and in 2019 the agriculture industry had a fatality rate of 19.4 deaths per 100,000 workers. National Farm Safety and Health Week has been recognized during the third week of September since it was established by President Roosevelt in 1944, to help bring attention to the risks of working agriculture.

This year, AgriSafe has daily webinars for agricultural health and safety professionals, healthcare providers, extension agents, producers, farmers, ranchers and farmworkers. An Agrisafe partner, the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS) coined this year’s theme: “Protecting Agriculture’s Future.” The theme is a reminder that the cornerstone of sustainable agriculture is healthy and safe workers.

Each day will have its own theme: Monday is Tractor Safety and Rural Roadway Safety, Tuesday is Overall Farmer Health, Wednesday is Safety and Health for Youth in Agriculture, Thursday is Confined Spaces, and Friday is Safety and Health for Women in Agriculture.

From Sept. 19-23, AgriSafe’s free webinars will cover a breadth of topics, including tractor and roadway safety, grain bin safety, wildfire and heat safety, workplace sexual harassment prevention, injury prevention and mental health help for youth and adults. For more information on National Farm Safety and Health week, visit: https://www.agrisafe.org/nfshw

AgriSafe sponsors helping support the week’s events include: CHS, Agri-Services Agency (ASA) and the UC-Davis Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety. The following NIOSH Agricultural Centers also contributed: Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH), High Plains Intermountain Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (HICAHS), Southwest Center for Agricultural Health, Injury Prevention, and Education (SW Ag Center), and Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (PNASH).