2001 Chilhood Agricultural Related Injuries

2001 Childhood
AgriculturalRelated Injuries

Washington, D.C.

Released January 8, 2004, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For information on "2001 Childhood Agricultural- Related Injuries" call Mark Aitken at 202-720-6146, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.

There were 22,648 agricultural-related injuries which
occurred to children or adolescents under the age of 20
who lived on, worked on, or visited a farm operation in
2001. The injuries occurred at a rate of 1.4 injuries per
100 farms. The findings are based on a telephone survey
of 50,000 randomly selected farms conducted by the
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) for the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH), an agency of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. Farm operators were asked questions
about injuries to youth less than 20 years of age that
occurred on their farm during 2001. An injury was
defined as any condition occurring on the farm operation
resulting in at least 4 hours of restricted activity.
Nearly 63 percent of all childhood injuries that
occurred on the farm operation were classified as nonwork-related, while 37 percent were classified as workrelated. The majority of these injuries happened to males.
Just over 14,000 injuries occurred to males compared to
about 8,500 injuries to females. Approximately 31
percent of all youth injuries happened to children under
age 10, about 46 percent to children age 10-15, and 23
percent to adolescents age 16-19.
Most injuries during 2001 happened to youth who were
part of the farm household. Results from the survey
showed that 16,851 injuries happened to youth who were
part of the farm household, for an injury rate of about 15.7
injuries for every 1,000 youth. Of these injuries,
approximately 32 percent happened to children under age

10, about 49 percent to children age 10-15, and 19 percent
to adolescents age 16-19. Approximately 34 percent of
the injuries to household youth were classified as workrelated injuries which happened at a rate of 10.9 injuries
per 1,000 youth while working. About 66 percent of the
injuries to household youth were classified as non-workrelated injuries and happened at a rate of 10.3 injuries per
1,000 youth.
A total of 3,801 injuries occurred to youth visiting the
farm. About 77 percent of these injuries were classified
as non-work-related while 23 percent were work-related.
Results showed about 1,900 injuries occurred to youth
hired to work on the farm, for a rate of 4.7 injuries per
1,000 youth.
Of all childhood injuries in 2001, just over 48 percent
occurred in the Midwest, while 31 percent occurred in the
South, 15 percent in the West, and 6 percent in the
Northeast. The regional rates of injury for all household
and hired youth combined were as follows: 13.2 injuries
per 1,000 youth for the Midwest, 12.7 injuries per 1,000
youth for the South, 12.3 injuries per 1,000 youth for the
West, and 10.3 injuries per 1,000 youth for the Northeast.
NIOSH sponsored this survey to better understand the
magnitude and scope of childhood agricultural-related
injuries. The survey was conducted as part of the NIOSH
Childhood Agricultural Injury Prevention Initiative. For
further information, contact John Meyers, NIOSH, at
(304) 285-6005 or Mark Aitken, NASS, at (202) 720-6146.

U.S. Childhood Agricultural-Related Injuries, 2001
All Household and Hired Youth
Region1

Total
Injuries

Injuries per
100 Farms2

Population3

Total
Injuries

Injuries per
1000 Youth

Northeast
South
Midwest
West

1,386
6,847
10,959
3,456

1.5
1.0
1.7
1.5

112,998
450,154
679,129
233,690

1,164
5,721
8,992
2,875

10.3
12.7
13.2
12.3

U.S.

22,648

1.4

1,475,971

18,752

12.7

1

Northeast: CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI and VT.
South: AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA and WV.
Midwest: IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD and WI.
West: AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA and WY.

2

Injury ratios based on adjusted farm counts from 1997 Census of Agriculture.

3

Indicated population from the survey of household youth and hired youth combined.

Sp Cr 9 (1-04)

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