Make Farm Tasks Age AppropriateIt's good to remember the youngest members of our farm families face the highest risk of injury, said Hank Bartholomew, loss control specialist with Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance. "Farming is consistently recognized by the National Safety Council as one of our most hazardous occupations. So it takes special diligence to keep our kids safe on the farm," he said. Bartholomew works with Ohio Farm Bureau members to prevent accidents, injuries and property losses, but he says farm safety should be everyone's job. "More than 33,000 children suffer serious agricultural injuries each year, and more than 100 children die as a result of these injuries," he said. Children under age 16 are victims in up to 20 percent of all farm fatalities. And kids who don't live on farms are the victims in one-third to one-half of all nonfatal, childhood agricultural injuries. Children typically want to help out on the farm, but Bartholomew said children often request permission to perform jobs that may be more advanced than the youngster's abilities. Parents and grandparents often give in to these requests. The North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks were developed to prevent childhood injuries without saying "no" to everything on the farm. "These guidelines help parents incorporate their children's mental and physical abilities with the task when assigning farm chores," Bartholomew said. More information is available in the Featured Links section of the OFBF Web site 800-382-8473 (item PRM). He offers these ideas to reduce the greatest risks to kids on the farm:
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