Citation

Chapman LJ, Husberg B. J. Saf. Res. 2008; 39(2): 171-173.

Affiliation

University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA. ljchapma@wisc.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, U.S. National Safety Council, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jsr.2008.02.008

PMID

18454963

Abstract

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. About 2.1 million workers were employed in agriculture, forestry, and fishing in the United States in 2004, making it one of the largest economic sectors in the nation. The workforce total consisted of about 1% in forestry, 5.9% in logging, 2.6% in fishing, hunting, and trapping, and 9% in support activities for agriculture and forestry. The balance, over 81% of the workforce, was engaged in crop or animal production.

This sector is unusual in a number of respects; nearly half of its workforce, almost 1 million individuals, are self-employed, many as farmers and fishers. Over the last 50 years, crop and animal production, and forestry and fishing in the U.S. have all achieved dramatic increases in the mechanization of production and in production efficiency. With better technology, many firms have consolidated and increased the size of their operations and output per employee (United States Department of Labor, 2007).

Individuals who work in these industries may feel strong ties to their job, as they often live in nearby rural communities close to the involved land, forest, or sea. However, they may pay a high price in terms of work-related risks of injury and disease. For example, an average of 700 individuals from the farming and ranching workforce lose their lives annually, and another 120,000 are temporarily or permanently disabled (National Safety Council, 2007). Among work-related injuries, tractors cause the most worker fatalities in agriculture, while other farm equipment and animals contribute to the most injuries overall. Hands are the part of the body most often injured and disabled. Small farms, and family farms with fewer than 11 employees, are exempt from enforcement of most federal workplace health and safety policies.

Language: en