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Chapter 4. Fundamental Challenges to Agricultural Safety and Health

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  Murphy, D.J. 2003. Fundamental Challenges to Agricultural Safety and Health. Chapter 4 in Looking Beneath the Surface of Agricultural Safety and Health, 27-42. St Joseph, Mich.: ASAE.  .(doi:10.13031/2013.12255)

This chapter reviews historical and contemporary impediments to reducing occupational agriculture injury. The impediments identified here permeate and negatively impact progress in agricultural safety and health in the United States. The discussion is organized around three main themes: the nature of farm work, program theory and evaluation, and surveillance data issues. These themes are related only in that they represent long-term and difficult problems to overcome. Some of the specific problems identified within these themes were first noted as many as 60 years ago, some problems have emerged only in more recent years, while still others have never been discussed as formally as they will be here. These challenges are interrelated and often feed into each other; perhaps this is why they are not easily addressed or resolved. Nevertheless, these are issues that need a systematic, long-term, ecologic (holistic) approach if major improvements are to be made to significantly improve occupational agriculture safety and health.

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