HEALTH AND SAFETY OF AGRICULTURAL-WORKERS

Farming is one of the most hazardous occupations in the world. Each ye ar almost 1,000 people die in the United States due to an injury on th e farm. In addition, tens of thousands of disabling injuries occur to farmers each year. Numerous physical, chemical, and biologic hazards a re commonplace in the agricultural workplace, and all may lead to seri ous injury, illness, or death if the farmer does not use self-protecti ve measures. As farms become more mechanized, new hazards associated w ith the equipment may arise. State and federal agencies have rules and regulations to reduce some of the common farm hazards, but small fami ly farmers often are exempt, Nonremovable safety guards on new equipme nt should decrease the rate of many farm injuries.