North Dakota agricultural injuries, fatalities often unreported, safety specialist says
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GRAND FORKS, N.D. — In spite of the pressure to move quickly, a fourth-generation farmer from Gilby, North Dakota, encourages his peers to prioritize safe behaviors for the next generation.
“Try to lead by example,” Greg Amundson said. “If people see you doing something the safe way, and the right way, they’re going to emulate it.”
With more than 20 years of farm experience, Amundson has focused on teaching his children to slow down and do things right the first time. He emphasizes the importance of wearing a seat belt, driving slowly, watching out for other farmers and pointing out mistakes that could be dangerous.
“Don’t be afraid to assert yourself when it can keep someone safe,” Amundson said.
Generational lessons like those passed down among the Amundson family often serve as the only training for farm families and workers. That’s because formal agricultural education and training is rare, according to Angie Johnson, NDSU Extension’s farm and ranch safety specialist.
Though informal training is the norm, Johnson said there’s been a strong push by the Legislature in recent years to increase farm safety education, which was removed from the NDSU Extension portfolio after the previous specialist retired in 2005.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., recently discussed with the Grand Forks Herald his commitment to farm safety through his role as chairman of the Senate Ag Appropriations Committee, working to secure funding for institutions like NDSU Extension.
“Farm safety is essential to every operation,” Hoeven said. “Producers rely on accessible and quality training to stay informed on best practices.”
A new push, Johnson said, was deemed necessary amid what felt like a significant number of agriculture-related injuries and deaths. She said it’s estimated that at least 30% of cases are unreported and thus rarely publicly known, since a large number of North Dakota farms have one owner — a “family farm” classification, making them exempt from injury and fatality reporting requirements.
“This makes it really challenging and really difficult in the agriculture industry to have a good understanding of what’s going on,” Johnson said.
However, the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health compiles data on farm fatalities via news clipping services, using search words related to agriculture-related deaths and injuries. Although likely an incomplete list, the center’s data shows at least 84 ag-related deaths in North Dakota from 2012 to 2023.
The practice identified 18 tractor-related fatalities that made headlines, along with nine grain bin-related fatalities, 12 roadway fatalities, nine ATV fatalities, five entanglement fatalities, two livestock-related fatalities and 29 fatalities with various or unspecified agricultural-related causes.
During that same time period, there were three tractor-related injuries, four grain bin injuries, 22 roadway injuries, three ATV injuries, 12 entanglement injuries, two livestock-related injuries and 19 injuries with various or unspecified agricultural-related causes.
Johnson feels it’s important to understand the safety hazards North Dakota farmers face so she and her colleagues can create effective educational resources. Within the last 50 years, little research has been done on production agricultural safety, though the field has changed dramatically during that time, she said.
Since taking on her safety specialist role, Johnson has worked alongside Sanford Health to expand the existing data, reviewing trauma center information to identify the major causes of injury in production agriculture.
One study, a retrospective analysis of injury data obtained from four Sanford Medical Center trauma registries in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota, explored agricultural harvest machine-related injuries that occurred between January 2010 and December 2021. The study found that augers had the highest number of adult (47) and pediatric (4) injuries, followed by grain bins and combines. The study did not consider tractors, though, which are commonly recognized as the top cause of agricultural injuries and were examined in a separate study.
“It’s really been a great opportunity to learn and get a better, stronger idea of what we’re actually seeing in the field, so that we can really focus hard on some prevention and even some intervention discussions with our farm and ranch families across the state,” she said. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to be able to take a deep dive.”
There’s a significant amount of underlying stress in production agriculture, with people rushing to get ahead of sunset or poor weather conditions, often working long hours, Johnson said.
“That’s when mistakes can happen, when we’re not fully rested, we’re stressed, we’re tired,” she said.
Carma Hanson, Safe Kids Grand Forks coordinator, emphasizes the importance of modeling good behaviors for children at all times, because they often do what they see rather than what they’re told.
She feels some of the most significant hazards for children are large bodies of water, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility task vehicles (UTVs) and farm animals. Kids should be taught the warning signs in animal behavior, Hanson said. Animals often act differently when they’re eating, around new people, feel caged in or have recently given birth.
“While this may be a cow that you’ve been around and raised or a pet in the past, if all of a sudden it has a calf with it, it’s going to become very innately protective of that,” she said.
ATVs and UTVs have become more commonly used by children over the years, Hanson said, and though they seem like a more affordable option than a car, they don’t have the same safety features — things like air bags, seat belts and rollover bars.
“They’re quick and easy, they’re able to be moved and mobile,” Johnson said. “But the problem is, we really have to do a better job of making sure we’re training our kids.”
Johnson and Hanson stressed the importance of buying a child-sized vehicle and ensuring children wear proper safety equipment, including a helmet. Adult-sized machines are heavy, and children often don’t have the strength to navigate them, particularly if they start to tip, Hanson said.
North Dakota Parks and Recreation provides required training for youth who drive ATVs and UTVs on public land, but Hanson feels parents often don’t know about or utilize these resources. She encourages parents to research the necessary courses, as well as general youth farm safety education courses that are held throughout the state.
“Those are a fabulous opportunity to teach youth about the really inherent dangers that there are on farms,” Hanson said.
Having grown up on a farm herself, Johnson said agriculture is just that — a culture. It’s immersive, and people want to raise their families in it.
“I was grateful to be raised in agriculture,” she said. “But we really need to make sure our families understand that you need to be a parent first, and a farmer or rancher second. Make sure that we’re not putting our kids in harm’s way, or assigning them tasks that they’re just not physically or cognitively ready to do yet.”
As the population in North Dakota changes, there’s a larger number of residents removed from agriculture. Drivers want to pass a slow-moving farm vehicle, but don’t necessarily know how to do so safely, because many take up a majority of their lane, as well as the shoulder and ditch, Johnson said.
They don’t always turn at typical intersections, and long vehicles have to make wide turns. Johnson feels adding agricultural roadway safety to the driver’s education curriculum would be a great benefit to North Dakota residents.
Amundson said farmers don’t want to inconvenience anyone. They avoid main roads whenever they can.
“At the end of the day, we all have a job to do,” Amundson said. “… In the end, we just all have to be patient, and slow down.”
He understands that people get worked up and want to get to their destination quickly, but he wants drivers to remember everyone has a family to go home to.
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