Seasonal Patterns of Injury Characteristics Among Farmers and Ranchers in the U.S. Central States

ABSTRACT

Objective

In high-risk agricultural environments, tasks, weather, and work conditions vary throughout the year. Also, injuries peak during certain periods. The primary objective of this study was to examine operator- and farm-level characteristics as risk factors for injuries within each of the four seasons. The secondary objective was to examine seasonal differences in the incident location and primary cause of these injuries.

Method

We analyzed data from the 2018 and 2020 Farm and Ranch Health and Safety Surveys (FRHSS), conducted in seven U.S. states by the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH), which were collected using a stratified random sampling approach to ensure representativeness. The survey data were merged with operation-level data from the Farm Market iD database. We employed Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) to examine the association of seasonal injuries with individual and operation-level characteristics. The chi-square test of independence was used to assess the association between injury incident location and season, as well as injury cause and season. Pairwise Z-tests of proportions were conducted to evaluate the differences in the proportions of injuries due to specific combinations of injury location and cause across each pair of seasons.

Results

Surveys conducted in 2018 and 2020 yielded a combined response rate of 15.9%, with 5,428 responses and 7,915 unique operators. Of these, 903 operators reported at least one injury during the past 12 months. Seasonally, most injuries occurred in spring (34.2%), followed by summer (24.7%). Male operators had higher injury odds in the spring (adjusted OR = 1.42) and summer (aOR = 2.41). Those managing both a farm and a ranch reported increased injury risks in winter (aOR = 1.73) and spring (aOR = 1.48). Operators in cow-calf operations faced higher springtime injury risks (aOR = 1.45). High stress and exhaustion were consistent risk factors across all seasons. The highest proportion of injury incidents occurred in the farmyard (43.6%), and livestock were the most common cause of injury (24.9%).

Conclusion

Results highlight the need for season-specific prevention and intervention strategies, considering farmers’ and ranchers’ risk characteristics, injury locations, and causes. These findings can inform targeted measures for high-risk populations at optimal times and locations.

KEYWORDS:

• Agricultural injury
• farmers
• ranchers
• seasons, safety

Acknowledgments

Kaeli Samson prepared datasets for analyses.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Institution and ethics approval and informed consent

University of Nebraska Medical Center Institutional Review Board approved this study protocol as exempt (#452–11-EX).

Authors’ contributions

Rishad Ahmed participated in the research methodology design and data analysis/interpretation and drafted and finalized the manuscript. Risto H Rautiainen was the Principal Investigator responsible for the research methodology design, data collection, and the draft’s critical evaluation. Yi Du participated in the design of the research methodology, data analysis, and critical evaluation of the draft. Sarah Tucker participated in critically evaluating the draft. Athena K Ramos participated in critically evaluating the draft. Gleb Haynatzki participated in the research methodology design and critically evaluated the draft.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2024.2387645

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the CDC/NIOSH through the Co-operative Agreement U54 OH010162 to the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH).