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Aging farmers, roadway collisions top concerns in Wisconsin farm fatalities report

Recent Wisconsin Farm Related Fatalities reports indicate that injuries and deaths remain a persistent issue.

“This is incredibly unfortunate, given the many other challenges farm families and farm workers are facing here in this day and age,” said one of the reports’ co-authors, John Shutske, University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor and Agricultural Safety & Health Specialist. “We saw a high of 41 deaths in 2017. And, then a low of 28 in 2020, but climbing back in these last three years, we looked at around 30-35 deaths.”

The National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension and UW’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences recently published farm fatalities reports for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023. The organizations teamed up in 2017 using data from AgInjuryNews.org and Wisconsin Department of Health Services death certificates to reinstate the annual reports, which track farm and farm work-related injuries and deaths.

The reports from 2021-2023 were co-authored by Shutske, with Bryan Weichelt and Roger Aby, both scientists with the National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute. The reports raise specific concerns related to aging farmers, roadway collisions, ATVs/UTVs and suicide.

Aging farmers at high risk

“We continue to see older individuals (65 or older), particularly men, at high risk,” Shutske said. “Going back to 2017, in most years, individuals 65 or older made up around 50 percent of all of the fatalities recorded each year. In these recent three years, individuals over age 65 constituted 46 percent of fatalities in 2021, 55 percent in 2022, and 50 percent in 2023.

“This is important as our ‘average’ farm owner/operator age continues to climb per the most recent USDA Census of Ag data. Older workers present unique risks and potential vulnerabilities,” Shutske said.

  • They have a higher potential for fatigue from working long hours, which could lead to mistakes and errors as well as falls and other physical risks. In many studies, “hours worked” is a risk factor for farming injury, Shutske noted.
  • If something happens and a person must react quickly, aging plays a role in lengthened reaction time.
  • As people get older, the potential for falls increases. Their balance is not as good and they have less strength needed for activities like climbing in and out of machinery. The aging issue is persistent and not likely to improve, Shutske said.

Roadway collisions involving slow-moving farm equipment

The team analyzing Wisconsin farm workplace deaths noted a modest decline in the number of roadway-collision deaths among farm equipment operators, motor vehicle drivers and occupants. There were nine in 2017, a low of three in 2022 and four in 2023, the most recent report.

Statewide, special emphasis on slow-moving vehicle (SMV) emblem distribution has been placed by partner organizations such as the National Farm Medicine Center, UW-Madison’s Agricultural Safety Program and other cooperators, Shutske said. Additionally, significant awareness-building efforts have been underway over the past several years to remind equipment owners of the need to upgrade their equipment to meet federal requirements and internationally recognized safety standards, led by groups such as the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), he said.

The ASABE’s standard for lighting and marking (S-279) is now part of federal regulations for newer ag equipment. It requires key equipment that includes flashing amber lights, turn signals, side marking using inexpensive, high-tech retroreflective tape, and other means to alert drivers at all times of the day.

“Local machinery dealers have been widely supportive of promoting the sale of lights and marking materials to support safety and protect the lives of their customers, as well as the general public,” Shutske said. The Milwaukee-based Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) offers an excellent guide outlining the required lighting and marking for agricultural equipment, including tractors, implements, larger self-propelled machines and other equipment, he said.

“We continue to miss a major opportunity” related to roadway fatalities in Wisconsin, Shutske said. “There were new federal requirements adopted about 10 years ago for lighting and marking on ag equipment for roadway travel. The goal was to align with national best practices and research that have helped develop ASABE standards (S-279).

“The areas of greatest concern here in Wisconsin are around flashing amber lights and integrated turn signals,” Shutske said. “Twenty years ago, the pushback on requiring these on all equipment in the state was that the electrical systems on older tractors could not ‘handle’ the additional power required for this additional lighting,” he said.

Now, most lighting requirements can be fulfilled with LED lighting, including lights that can be moved from machine to machine with relative ease and many that can be powered with inexpensive household batteries or even recharged easily, he said.

“Also, we are one of the few states that still has provisions for many machines that only require lighting from evening to early morning, as the sun is coming up. While these times are certainly important, lights should be used at all times,” Shutske said.

ATVs/UTVs deaths in recreational settings

This farm fatalities data analysis project was not set up to study incidents involving all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) or utility task vehicles (UTVs) in which a death occurred that was not related to agricultural work, Shutske said. “However, we noted several fatalities each year as ATVs and UTVs were being used in recreational settings, on the highway for transportation, or in other likely rural, non-farming uses.”

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources maintains summaries and annual reports of ATV incidents. In 2021, they recorded 47 fatalities, 21 in 2022 and 32 in 2023.

Wisconsin has specific ATV/UTV safety certification course requirements for operators on “public riding areas” such as trails or other permitted county or forest lands, Shutske said.

Operation of ATVs/UTVs on roadways is restricted to designated and marked as ATV/UTV routes by local governments with specific safety requirements and speed limits. Because of the documented dangers associated with ATV/UTV use for any purpose, Shutske recommends reviewing and complying with all appropriate state regulations and requirements.

Farmer suicide rates higher than other occupations

Shutske noted that this analysis project was not set up to study suicide incidents among farmers or farm workers. “However, recent studies remind us that the rates of suicide among farmers are measurably higher than for most other occupations.

“Recent research has suggested several important risk factors that include ready access to firearms on farms, the financial and workload burdens associated with farming, issues connected to physical health, and the stigma associated with seeking mental health care and support,” Shutske said.

Several statewide, community and farming organizations have focused efforts in recent years on farmer mental health and suicide prevention, Shutske said. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection operates the Farm Center, which provides a range of support services, including farmer wellness counseling services and a 24/7 Farmer Wellness Helpline: 800-942-2474. Other programs include the QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) program for individuals and organizations.

“If you encounter a friend, neighbor or loved one and have concerns of suicide risk, appropriate help and support are available through the 988-Lifeline. The service is free, confidential, and if you call or text (simply call or text 988), your contact is routed to a local provider who can help assess risk and make appropriate referrals that can save a life,” Shutske said. “Suicide is preventable, and learning more about this important issue could save a life.”

Data sources

Two data sources provided the basis for the fatality reports: the death certificate registry maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Bureau of Health Information; and news reports from Wisconsin daily and weekly newspapers, collected and collated through AgInjuryNews.org. Analysis can be time-consuming. Case-by-case verification is conducted to confirm that the death resulted from a farm work exposure or hazard, and that the person was actually doing farm work at the time. Recreational incidents on farm property and unrelated medical events are excluded.

The United States lacks a single, comprehensive, and continuous centralized national database that tracks all fatal and non-fatal agricultural injuries and illnesses.

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John Shutske, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin 

Bryan Weichelt, Ph.D. Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, National Farm Medicine Center

Roger Aby, Ph.D. Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, National Farm Medicine Center