The agricultural industry in our part of the country is a huge contributor to local economies as well as being a significant contributor to the well-being of the nation as a whole. Agri-business is a big deal in both Indiana and Illinois.
What is the Agricultural Industry?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”) the agricultural industry includes not only the farming of crops but the raising of livestock; harvesting timber; harvesting fish; and raising other animals on a farm or ranch.
It is much more widespread in its activities than many realize. The BLS explains that agricultural operations can involve farms; ranches; dairies; greenhouses; nurseries; orchards; or hatcheries.
Employment in this industry can involve a great many things, as well. Agricultural workers are employed in jobs that involve operation of agricultural equipment; running logging equipment; working or laboring on farms or in greenhouses; nurseries; dairies; and other types of farming operations, such as grain storage facilities. A number of agricultural workers work as commercial truck drivers or they work near industrial motor vehicles, including tractors and tractor-trailer trucks.
Agriculture in Illinois and Indiana: Billion-Dollar Business
Profits in our local agricultural industry reach billions of dollars each year. Consider the following statistics compiled for the State of Illinois:
- Illinois Land in Farms: 76%
- Agricultural Cash Receipts: $21,523,225,000.00
- Top Commodities: (1) Corn; (2) Soybeans; (3) Hogs; (4) Cattle and Calves; (5) Miscellaneous Crops.
Equally astounding are the data compiled for the State of Indiana:
- Indiana Land in Farms: 65%
- Agricultural Cash Receipts: $14,228,137,000.00
- Top Commodities: (1) Corn; (2) Soybeans; (3) Hogs; (4) Dairy Products, Milk; (5) Turkeys.
For more details, read “A Much Needed Force: The Farmers That Power Illinois’ Economy,” published by IL Corn on March 15, 2023. Also read information provided by the Indiana Department of Agriculture, where we learn that Indiana is the eighth (8th) largest agricultural exporter in the nation as well as being the 8th largest farming state in the nation.
Deadly Work Hazards in the Agricultural Industry
While other industries, such as construction, mining, and transportation are often the focus of safety awareness campaigns in the media (and understandably so), the reality is that agricultural work is very dangerous. As the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) warns:
Agriculture ranks among the most hazardous industries. Farmers are at very high risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries; and farming is one of the few industries in which family members (who often share the work and live on the premises) are also at risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries.
High Fatality Rates
The NIOSH, using BLS data from 2022 confirms that “workers in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry experienced one of the highest fatal injury rates at 20 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers, compared to a rate of 3.6 deaths per 100,000 workers for all U.S. industries. [BLS 2022].”
The majority of these work accident deaths for farmers and farm workers involved:
- Tractor overturns and motor vehicle crashes (leading cause of death)
- Contact with objects and equipment
- Violence involving animals or people
- Falls, slips, and trips.
For more, read Serious or Deadly Farm Accidents in Indiana and Illinois; and Accident Dangers for Indiana Agricultural Workers: Farming, Fishing, Hunting, Forestry.
Particular Dangers Facing Agricultural Workers
One of the reasons that agricultural work is so dangerous is because of the unique dangers involved in this type or work. Work tasks involve hazards and risks that are specific to this industry.
Employers and others in possession, custody, and control of any aspect of the agricultural worksite have legal duties of safety and care to protect farm workers from these risks and potentially fatal work accidents.
As the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS) explains, safety for agricultural workers must include:
1. Grain Bins and the Risk of Confined Space Injuries
Grain bins are notoriously high-risk. Workers should be protected not only during entry and exit from the grain bin as a confined space, but site-wide with established lockout-tagout procedures and policies. Air quality must be monitored for safety. Workers should be provided personal protection equipment that includes a safety harness.
For more, read Grain Handling Dangers in the Farming Operations of Illinois and Indiana.
2. Manure Pits and the Risk of Confined Space Injuries
Another confined space danger in the agricultural industry is the manure pit. Deemed by scientists as a “death trap,” manure pits can kill silently as they release toxic gas. Manure pits are needed in agricultural operations as storage of animal manure so it can be later used as fertilizer. During the decomposition process, gases like hydrogen sulfide are released which can be deadly if a worker inhales the fumes. For details, read “3 men die in manure pit: Here’s why it’s a ‘death trap,‘” written by Rachael Rettner and published by Live Science on August 12, 2021.
Workers should be protected from these risks by the standard protections for any confined space on the worksite, as well as being educated on the dangers of toxic fumes. Proper personal protection equipment to protect against toxins should also be provided, such as respirators.
For more, read Employer’s Duty to Protect Against Worker Confined Space Accidents in 2022.
3. Explosions of Dust or Biofuels
Biofuels on the agricultural worksite can explode if not properly monitored, stored, and used. There are also a variety of combustible dust forms that can explode or ignite with devastating results. All workers on an agricultural worksite should be educated on these hazards. Those with legal duties of safety should have daily housekeeping procedures in place and periodic reviews of the site to determine if new or different explosion hazards are present.
For more, read Combustible Dust Industrial Accidents and Explosives and Fire: Workplace Explosion Accidents.
4. Motor Vehicle Accidents: ATVs, Trucks, Tractors, and More
Farming operations need special kinds of heavy equipment and machinery, which can include things like tractors, balers, combines, cultivators, sprayers, plows, and seed drills. Even ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) can be used along rural areas of the agricultural worksite, as well as forklifts and a variety of commercial trucks needed to move crops and livestock.
All these are drivable machines with motors, or they are heavy equipment designed to be dragged by a moving vehicle (such as a cultivator dragged by a tractor). For those with legal duties to protect workers from harm, steps must be taken to keep workers safe from motor vehicle crashes and heavy machinery and equipment accidents that can cause catastrophic injuries or death.
For more, read Semi-Truck Crashes: Why Tractor-Trailer Trucks Are So Dangerous; and Farming Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Small Farm Fatality Dangers.
Justice After a Farming Accident for Agricultural Worker Injuries
Sadly, most severe or fatal work accidents involving an agricultural worker on a farm or ranch in Illinois or Indiana (as well as a grain storage facility; farming transport company; ranch; etc.) are preventable accidents where legal duties of care and safety have been disregarded or disrespected.
The employer may have legal responsibilities for the accident and its consequences. Landowners; suppliers; contractors; repair and maintenance companies; product designers and manufacturers; and more may also have legal liability. Each accident must be independently investigated to determine the scope of liability.
Agricultural accidents can kill the worker immediately, or in the weeks or months after the injuries have been sustained. Those who are blessed to survive the work accident may face life-altering realities as they deal with things like:
- Amputation
- Blindness
- Burn injuries
- Internal injuries to organs or nervous system
- Permanent disfigurement or scarring
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries.
Damages may be available for both the worker victim and family members under state workers’ compensation laws as well as the laws of negligence, defective products, and premises liability.
For more:
- Traumatic Amputations in Industrial Accidents
- Internal Injuries After an Accident Can Be Silent and Deadly
- The Six Basic Injury Dangers Facing Workers in Illinois and Indiana
- Wrongful Death Damages After Fatal Work Accidents in Illinois or Indiana
- Catastrophic Injuries in an Accident: Damages for the Loss of a Normal Life.
Our agricultural workers help to create billion-dollar revenues each year for their employers and yet they remain in a notoriously dangerous work environment. Working on farms, ranches, and other agri-business sites, is known to be unacceptably hazardous despite known safety safeguards for the workers. Please be careful out there!
