Youth commonly help out on family farms or work after-school jobs on the farms, but it can be dangerous work. Over the past decade, more youth have died working in agriculture than in all other industries combined.
Three new booklets (available in English, Spanish and French) aim to help youth stay safer on the farm. The booklets were developed by the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety and cover more than 50 commonly performed tasks. Each guideline has warnings about common hazards, tips for important protective strategies and the roles adults play in ensuring a safe work environment.
Each booklet addresses a specific topic: farm equipment operation, working with animals and gardening. The Children’s Center also has a set of information sheets with safety guidelines for hired adolescent farm workers.
Heather Chapman is a freelance writer and the chief blogger for the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues within the College of Communication and Information. Previously she was a journalist for the Lexington Herald-Leader and WUKY. She graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in integrated strategic communication in 2015. . It publishes The Rural Blog, a daily digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America; and Kentucky Health News, which provides coverage for news media in the state.
