Disability on Irish Farms—A Real Concern

ABSTRACT Farmers operate within hazardous environments while conducting their day-to-day tasks, potentially resulting in injury or disability. Disability can serve as a major life-changing event for the farmer, the farm family, and the farm business. In Ireland, the agricultural sector reported the highest incidence of disability, yet there is relatively little known on the impact of agricultural-based disability. In 2007, a questionnaire was appended to the Teagasc (Irish Agricultural and Food Development Authority) National Farm Survey to obtain some metric of the prevalence and impact of disability on Irish farms, in addition to quantifying service/support requirements of farm operators experiencing disability. Almost 5.9% (∼6611) of Irish farm operators reported disability, primarily caused through illness/disease. Arthritis (31.4%), back problems (17%), and heart circulatory problems (12.5%) were most frequently reported. The lowest prevalence of disability was found among tillage (1.4%) and dairy (4...