In 2017, farm accidents resulted in the deaths of 416 farmers and farmworkers. Every day, about 100 agricultural workers suffer a lost-work-time injury. In 2014, an estimated 12,000 youth were injured on farms; 4,000 of these injuries were due to farm work. These statistics from the CDC are sobering. But these events are preventable.
On the podcast this week, Carrie and I share some personal stories. Both of our families have been deeply affected by farm accidents. Our hope is that by sharing our stories, others can take a second to stop, think and look around to prevent these casualties from happening to other families.
This week on the podcast, Carrie Mess (a.k.a. Dairy Carrie) and I sit down for another Over A Beer episode. If you haven’t already, you should subscribe to my podcast (RSS link) to listen to all previous episodes. You can find those episode show notes here.
Thanks to our sponsor (Yes! We finally have sponsors) David Hayden from Kentucky for buying us a beer (and bourbon). If you’d like to buy us a beer or get me to Wisconsin for future episodes, hit me up on Venmo.
As I've tried to write out some notes for this blog, I just can't seem to hit the mark. When Carrie and I sat down to record this episode, it was uncomfortable, but we know sharing these stories is important.
Both of our families have been affected by farm accidents and I think that is one of those things you'd never wish on others. In 2006, I lost my mom to an accident while sorting cattle on our ranch in Arkansas. This was long before I met Carrie and her husband Patrick.
In 2015, Carrie's mother in law lost a leg in an accident with their feed truck. I remember Carrie's call that day when she told me about the events unfolding. Every time I hear of others impacted by these events, my mind goes back to my own personal story.
Farm safety is an important topic for us both. We hope that you'll take the time to listen to our stories and reflect on how you might prevent future farm accidents for those around you.
Let us know if your family or someone you know has been affected by farm accidents by dropping a comment below or chiming in on Twitter. Like what you see here? Sign up for my newsletter to be notified of future stories and weekly headlines. Click here to sign up.