Tractor rollovers continue to be one of the most frequent causes of agricultural fatalities. Despite knowledge of rollovers and the efficacy of rollover protective structures (ROPS), few New York farmers have considered installing ROPS on their unprotected tractors. Qualitative interviews conducted with an "at-risk" segment of the New York farming community indicate that there are a number of barriers to safety in general and to retrofitting, in particular. The following themes and categories emerged in relation to safety and risk taking: constant exposures to risk with positive outcomes normalizes risk; the modeling of risk by significant others positions risk as part of a farming identity; and the pressure to reduce costs, save time, and accept risk frames risk-taking as the cost-effective option (especially in regard to retrofitting, which farmers believe is both expensive and time-consuming). Recommendations for researchers planning retrofitting interventions would be to focus safety messages on the risk to significant others or on the financial impact of rollovers, and to provide financial incentives and assistance to farmers considering retrofitting.
Injury data and reports provide valuable information for both public and private organizations to guide programming, policy, and prevention, but in the increasingly complex and dangerous industry of US agriculture, the injury surveillance needed to produce this data is lacking. To address the gap, AgInjuryNews was established in 2015. The system includes fatal and nonfatal injury cases derived from publicly available reports, including occupational and nonoccupational injuries, occurring in the agricultural, forestry, and fishing (AFF) industry.The study aimed to develop a stakeholder-engaged redesign of the interactive, up-to-date, and publicly available dataset of US AFF injury and fatality reports.Instructor-led heuristic evaluations within a 15-student undergraduate course, data from 8 student participants of laboratory-based usability testing and 2016 and 2017 AgInjuryNews-registered user surveys, coupled with input from the National Steering Committee informed the development priorities for 2018. An interdisciplinary team employed an agile methodology of 2-week sprints developing in ASP.NET and Structured Query Language to deliver an intuitive frontend and a flexible, yet structured, backend, including a case report input form for capturing more than 50 data points on each injury report.AgInjuryNews produced 17,714 page views from 43 countries in 2018 captured via Google Analytics, whereas 623 injury reports were coded and loaded, totaling more than 31,000 data points. Newly designed features include customizable email alerts, an interactive map, and expanded search and filter options. User groups such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America have endorsed the system within their networks. News media have cited or referenced the system in national outlets such as the New York Times, Politico, and the Washington Post.The new system's features, functions, and improved data granularity have sparked innovative lines of research and increased collaborative interest domestically and abroad. It is anticipated that this nontraditional sentinel surveillance system and its dataset will continue to serve many purposes for public and private agricultural safety and health stakeholders in the years to come. .
The goal of the Safety Training for Employers and Supervisors of Adolescent Farmworkers initiative is to improve the occupational health and safety knowledge and practices of agricultural employers and supervisors responsible for employees, ages 14 to 17 years. Surveys were sent to members of the National Council of Agricultural Employers and the Washington Growers League to measure attitudes regarding adolescent employees, current hiring and training practices, and future intentions. More than half of the respondents hire adolescents. Two-thirds were male, nearly three-quarters of the respondents had college or post-graduate degrees, and more than half were 50 years or older. The majority of respondents had positive perceptions of adolescents in terms of dependability, helpfulness, and work ethic. Among those who currently hire young workers, the most common reasons were to provide a job for children of friends and family and because they can work part-time to fill a labor demand. Among those not hiring adolescents, the most common reason was concern about child labor regulations and associated tasks (e.g., paperwork, monitoring hours). Respondents use a variety of safety training resources, especially posters and safety meetings. For the future, they expect to need more handout materials and training videos. Study results provide insights into barriers to the employment of young workers and suggest methods by which agricultural safety specialists can best assist those employers and producers who are willing to hire adolescents into agricultural work settings.
This study sought to assess the feasibility of self-installing rollover protective structures (ROPS) and to identify any patterns of self-installation deficiencies in a sample of New York ROPS Retrofit Rebate Program participants. Inspection engineers looked for/at damage, rust, holes, deteriorated welding, location of attachment, axle housing, the presence of original plates/bolts, and adequate seatbelt installation. Results indicated that only 31% of farmers received correct parts and also installed these parts properly. Ten percent of self-installed tractors had installation problems so severe they were referred to a dealer for correction. Issues with seatbelts, torque, and unmarked or defective bolts in ROPS kits were also detected.
Some of the papers read at the Mid-American Biomass Energy Workshop at Purdue University early this Summer are discussed. The need for increased Federal Government funding for biomass fuel production was called for as was the need to convince the public that alternate sources were needed. The potential contribution of biomass to the US energy needs was discussed by various speakers. It is not envisaged that biomass will ever be a major contributor to total energy needs but it is thought to have a significant role to play.
Abstract. Organic and/or inorganic fertilizers are used to promote crop growth yet the rate of fertilizer application is often based on the nitrogen needs of the crop and not the phosphorus needs, especially when utilizing animal manures with low N-to-P ratios as compared to plant N:P uptake. Because of this, soil phosphorus levels in many areas of the world are in excess of crop needs. Excessive levels of phosphorus in water bodies such as streams and lakes can result in a condition known as eutrophication. With eutrophication, nutrients promote algal growth which in turn decreases dissolved oxygen levels in receiving water bodies. The issue of excessive nutrient inputs to waterbodies is of particular importance to Kentucky due to its large agricultural base and the Commonwealthâs link to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Nutrient management is one way to minimize the impacts of phosphorus on waterways; however, the success of nutrient management is dependent in part on soil sampling strategies. This study examined the effect of soil sampling density (15 Ã 15 m, 15 Ã 30 m, and 15 Ã 60 m) on Soil Test Phosphorus (STP) in three subplots. Results indicated that mean STP values for the subplots did not change with sampling densities; however, maximum STP levels displayed large variations. Depending on the sampling density used and the method of data aggregation (mean vs. maximum), recommended nutrient application rates varied from phosphorus-based to nitrogen-based. Also of importance was the recognition that maximum STP values were driven by a shallow limestone rock layer, which was not visible at the time of sampling. This limestone rock layer, and hence these highest STP values, were immediately upgradient of a sinkhole from which collected soil samples also exhibited higher STP values. When developing nutrient management plans, particularly in karst landscapes where the potential for groundwater contamination and hence surface water contamination is higher, additional consideration should be given to the influence of geologic materials on soil nutrient levels and greater sampling densities around preferential flow paths.
