• In addition to its unique processes, agriculture is also unlike general industry socially, economically, psychologically, and geographically. Examples of major differences include:

   

  • The workplace and the residence are co-located. Thus, the hours of work are as long as necessary, and many of the hazards that affect the producer also affect the family including the children.
  • As self-employers or very small businesses, there is little or no distinction between management and labor, few legal or pre-selection barriers to entry such as age, sex or even ability (versus desire), and no employee benefits such as sick leave, medical insurance, or workers compensation.
  • The intrinsically "risky" nature of agriculture as a business coupled with the inability of the farmer to change prices to reflect costs provides limited incentives to purchase, install, or maintain preventive safety and health controls.
  • Agriculture is a geographically dispersed industry with many small "factories" spread over a broad region, inhibiting epidemiologic surveillance or "recognition" of hazards and the provision of prevention and rehabilitation services.
  • The psychological stoic self-image of farming as an independent lifestyle rather than a business further inhibits acceptance of outside preventive services.
  • Coupled with these characteristics is the recently rapid rate with which farmers and traditionally farming families are leaving the industry.
• Accidental death rates in U.S. agriculture have been consistently near 50 per 100,000 workers for several decades; temporarily disabling accident rates are estimated at over 5%; and the overall injury and illness rate at nearly 13%. The acute safety hazards listed in Table 1 create a pattern of fatal accidents typified by the data shown in Table 3. Ergonomic agents in Table 1 create an array of common chronic musculoskeletal injuries among agricultural workers in addition to some specific injuries such as "Milker's Knee" among dairy farmers and osteoarthritis of the hip among tractor drivers.
• Noise is a common hazardous physical agent with perhaps a third of farmers experiencing time weighted average (TWA) noise above 90 dBA, and several categories of sources in the 100-110 dBA range. Noise induced hearing loss is very common among farmers. The elevated incidence of heat stroke is not well studied. Both whole body vibration and segmental vibration are prevalent among farmers; the technology to reduce whole body vibration is available on newer equipment.
• Psychological Stress in agriculture manifests itself in suicide at a greater frequency, more frequent mental disability, and decreased intra-family functionality. The effects of stress with seasonal work-cycle peaks, adverse weather conditions and machinery breakdowns, interacts with the stoic and independent nature of farmers making them reluctant to seek professional help.
• Diseases of the skin are very common in agriculture, may become disabling, but are rarely life threatening. However, a wide range of morbidity and mortality findings suggests that respiratory diseases from many of the Biological and Chemical Agents listed in Table 1 may represent the greatest health hazard to farmers. Respiratory hazards range from acute to chronic air contaminants. The settings include poultry barns, swine barns, hydrogen sulfide from manure pits, and carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in silo gas. Agricultural aerosols can present both chronic hazards from crystalline free-silica (quartz) and silicate components of inorganic dusts, as well as acute hazards from coccidioidomycosis, soil-borne fungi, and microbial toxins like endotoxin and aflatoxin. Inorganic dust is a complex mixture associated with such non-specific respiratory diseases as atopic asthma, occupational asthma, and bronchitis as well as the more agricultural specific diseases called Farmer's Lung and Organic Dust Toxic Syndrome [ODTS]. Control of aerosols might include the enclosure and ventilation of tractors, applying moisture to friable material, and respirators.
• While chemical pesticides and fertilizers can present hazards when misused, they represent only a narrow spectrum of the occupational risks within agriculture listed in Table 1. Reviews of pesticide toxicities are readily available (e.g. M. Moses: "Pesticides"), the industrial hygiene aspects of their use practices, levels of exposure, and the efficacy of exposure controls are less accessible. Pesticides can present a hazard to applicators, to harvesters reentering a sprayed field, and to rural residents via air, ground water, and food. Methods to assess exposure include direct methods via dermal patches, skin washes, and fluorescent tracers. Exposure can also be assessed indirectly via biochemical responses such as a change in cholinesterase activity, and urinary excretion. Guidelines for cholinesterase monitoring and diagnosis of organophosphorus (OP) poisoning are well established.
• Broadly speaking, variations in exposures are unrelated to the particular chemical being used but do vary with the pesticide formulation and concentration, application process and equipment, clothing worn, and personal techniques. Exposure controls include personal protection, particularly clothing and gloves rather than respirators, and engineering/mechanical controls.
• Veterinary chemicals include biologicals and antibiotics. Biologicals are made from living products such as viruses or bacteria processed to enhance the immunity of an animal to a specific infectious disease or diseases. The main risk groups are those involved in livestock production and related veterinary care who administer these products to animals, including farmers, veterinarians, and their assistants. Hazards associated with biologicals include accidental inoculation, splashing the product into the eyes or mucous membrane, and contamination of the broken skin. The result may be an infection, inflammation, or an allergic reaction. The primary products that have been associated with occupational illnesses include brucellosis strain 19, Escherichia coli bacterins, Jhone's disease bacterin, erysipelas vaccines, contagious ecthyma vaccine, and Newcastle disease vaccine. Control of exposure to biologicals should start with good animal handling techniques and facilities and include some Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
• Antibiotics are products derived from (or synthesized) from living organisms, mainly mold species of the genus streptomyces and include penicillin, tetracycline, sulfamethazine, erythromycin, and virginiamycin. Exposure can occur to livestock producers, veterinarians, and feed manufacturers and formulators by direct contact with antibiotic-containing feeds or via aerosol exposure within livestock buildings, feed preparation areas on the farm, or feed manufacturing plants.
• Zoonoses are infectious diseases common to animals and humans. At least 24 of the over 150 such diseases known worldwide, are occupational hazards for agricultural workers in North America. The agricultural worker's risk of acquiring a zoonotic infection varies with the type and species of animal and the geographic location. Control of these infections in the production phase depends largely on an awareness of the specific hazards, and good preventive veterinary care, hazard communication, and medical back-up, especially in cases where serological monitoring of animals or people may be indicated.

This information was provided by OSHA.  The table referenced above, may be viewed on this page.