Recent research has revealed that during the past 6 year more than 60,000 people were treated in emergency departments for nonfatal, agricultural-related injuries.   This study concluded that numbers if nonfatal agricultural injuries was somewhat limited because some injuries went unreported.   Over the period, an estimated 62,079 people were treated in an emergency department for agricultural-related injuries. With an average age of 66, farmers in general are not getting younger and Grant County is no exception.  This population struggles to find experienced and affordable laborers thus resulting in accidents caused be many factors including inexperience for the hired help or delayed reaction time for the aging farmer.

The Grant County Extension Office, the Grant County Agriculture Council, Grant County Farm Bureau Federation, Grant County Cattlemen’s Association, Grant and Williamstown High School FFA and the Dry Ridge Fire Department collaborated with Kentucky Fire Commission and Kentucky Department of Agriculture to offer a 2 day farm rescue training for farmers, farm hands and first responders.

Eighty-five individuals attended the training Life, Death and Reality.  The focus of this training is to get farmers and farm hands to focus on safety on the farm and their own health all year.  Attendees were first exposed to the statistics and dangers and then learned important practices of farm safety, coupled with the mental and physical health of farmers.  

The final session of the program was focused on situational practices for the first responders including patient extrication from pinned location beneath a rotary cutter and overturned lawn mower.  Role play included a patient being impaled by a spear and the subsequent planning, stabilizing, removal and transport of the patient from the situation

A follow-up survey was completed by the participants eight weeks after completing the course. All of the participants indicated that they have applied some of the principles taught during the course at home on the farm and had experienced an increase in their comfort level during tractor operation.  Additionally all students indicated that they used seatbelts on the tractor some of the time, with 50% indicating that they use seat belts all of the time.  The greatest impact was that 68% indicated that they have found or are actively looking for employment on the farm.  A bonus impact was indicated by 5 participants indicated that they have taught someone else one of the principles covered during one of the 10 sessions.