NIOSH Celebrates National Farm Safety and Health Week

Categories: Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing

September 24th, 2014 7:23 am ET - Brad Husberg, BSN, MSPH and Pietra Check, MPH

September 21-27, 2014, is National Farm Safety and Health Week. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) marks this year’s theme,Safety Counts: Protecting What Matters, by announcing the new Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing directory page.

The new page provides a one-stop entry to all of NIOSH’s agriculture, forestry and fishing resources, making it easier than ever to access data, information, and publications for research and action. The directory page is coordinated by the Office of Agriculture Safety and Health (OASH) in the NIOSH Director’s Office. OASH provides leadership to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses among the nation’s agriculture, forestry and fishing workers. OASH sets strategic directions for, supports, and monitors and reports progress on safety and health research and public health practice activities, both intramural and extramural. OASH also bridges internal and external activities by facilitating research integration, partnership development, and research to practice.

Workers in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector experience the highest rates of fatal work-related injury of workers in any sector in the U.S. OASH supports NIOSH’s mission to protect agriculture, forestry and fishing workers in the United States and reduce these rates by coordinating a robust portfolio of intramural and extramural research and practice activities, including the nine regional Centers for Agriculture Disease and Injury Research, Education and Prevention and the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety . Unique intramural surveillance efforts include collaborations with several federal and state partners to monitor childhood agricultural injuries; the Farm and Ranch Safety Survey, which measures injury and health exposures; and the SENSOR-Pesticides program to detect acute pesticide poisonings in participating states.

The new directory page offers improved access to these NIOSH data sources, topics and publications on agriculture, forestry and commercial fishing workers, and our extramural programs. It also links to information about program goals, outcomes, and partnerships through the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Program Portfolio, National Occupational Research Agenda, and recent program review pages. Visit the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing website to find out more about protecting farm workers, loggers, and fishermen from work-related injuries and illnesses.

NIOSH joins the Ag Centers in recognizing National Farm Safety and Health Week as an opportunity to emphasize the importance of working together to prevent injuries and illnesses to agriculture workers. During the week, topics such as Roadway Safety, Sun Safety, Tractor Safety, Confined Space Hazards, and Children’s Safety will be addressed. Take a look at the Ag Centers’ YouTube channel

for videos on these and several related topics. Additional information and resources for the Week are available through the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety

. NIOSH resources on National Farm Safety and Health Week topics and many others can be accessed through the new web page. Tell us below how you are celebrating National Farm Safety and Health Week and what resources you have found to be helpful in your efforts to improve safety and health in agriculture.

Brad Husberg, BSN, MSPH and Pietra Check, MPH

Captain Husberg is Director of the NIOSH Office of Agriculture Safety and Health and Manager of the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing Program.

Ms. Check is Deputy Director of the NIOSH Office of Agriculture Safety and Health and Coordinator of the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing Program.

AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY and FISHING

heavy machinery moving large logs from a stack of timber

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in growing crops, raising animals, harvesting timber, and harvesting fish and other animals on a farm, ranch, or from their natural habitats. There were approximately 2.2 million AgFF workers in 20111. There were 566 fatal occupational injuries among AgFF workers that year, almost half of which were in crop production (245) 2. The incidence of OSHA-recordable nonfatal injuries and illnesses on farms with 11 or more employees, forestry, and fishing workplaces was 5.5 per 100 full-time equivalents in 2012, compared to 3.7 per 100 FTEs in all private and public industry 3. The 2012 fatal injury rate for AgFF workers was the highest of any industrial sector, at 21.2 per 100,000 FTEs compared to 3.2 per 100,000 for all workers in the US4.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (AgFF) Program, coordinated by the NIOSH Office of Agriculture Safety and Health (OASH), provides leadership to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses among the nation’s agricultural and forestry workers and fishermen. The Program facilitates the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) for AgFF, a multi-stakeholder partnership program that builds consensus around AgFF safety and health research and practice goals and priorities for the nation.