Dead Farmers

1.As a trauma nurse I see a lot. #1 cause of tractor & ATV & lawnmower accidents is embankments. Got just a little too close to the edge & over it goes.Sometimes the edges are soft & give way unexpectedly.
A steam roller on a construction site tossed the driver as it tilted on the edge of the embankment & ran over the guy & he died a few hours later.Multiple internal injuries.
ATV's also run into soft moist soil. They stop suddenly but the driver keeps going~ catapulted the rest of the way.
My DH hooked up the hare on the back of our tractor after the field was plowed up. Only, he hooked it to the wrong height level. He went a short distance, the hare dug in & flipped the tractor faster than he could blink an eye. It landed on top of his chest. Fortunately he was laying in a depression in the soil.Otherwise he would have had a crushing chest injury.The steering wheel was bent, though.

2.Animals: I always make sure I have an exit & am not in a position to get pinned by an animal. Horses make sudden jealous maneuvers when feeding & you can get struck by one horse trying to maneuver to get away from a horse bite. Going thru a stall door- my Belgian couldn't wait to get at the grain & pushed past me, stepped on my foot & I fell to the ground with him still on my foot.Then he started to maneuver around & could have stepped on my stomach if he didn't pick up on where I was.
I place each horse in a stall before getting their grain. Safer.My friend ended up with a lacerated liver & nearly died when visiting her uncle's farm. The gelding 'put it in reverse' when he realized she was in the corral while he was eating grain.He kicked her in the abdomen clear across the corral.
Recently, a longhorned cow decided to take a walk out to the highway & stop traffic. The farmer went out to try & shoo her back onto his land.She decided to play "El Toro"! Charged & tossed him in the air & dropped to the ground. But~~ he's on COUMADIN! A blood thinner. Blood everywhere! He ended up OK, but you never know. She was NEVER a problem before. Maybe it was hormonal?

"CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND"~ from a Steven Segal movie. (I never forgot it.)

I've noticed tat most of the guys dying around here lately are older farmers in their 70s and 80s who get killed on tractors. They've worked on those tractors all their lives and they get complacent. They are out mowing or something and they think they can do anything on them and they flip them over or they do something else and get themselves killed.

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Respect The Cactus!

It happens every year. A neighbor and I were talking about this just on Sunday, and we were knocking on wood that this community has had no accidents this year. He used to be on the ambulance crew... he just shuddered when the topic came up.

All farm families who take these risks are in my thoughts at this time every year. This is one of the reasons why I believe EVERYONE ought to know where their food comes from. So many people not connected to the farming way of life have no idea of the risks taken every day to put food on their tables, because they don't even know where that food comes from -- they just want the cheapest prices at the grocery store.

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Ignorance is the true enemy.

I've seen the village, and I don't want it raising my children.

www.newcenturyhomestead.com

Such a sad thread, but a very important one.

That's one reason I always carry my cell phone with me & my neighbour calls if she doesn't see my car or truck moved for 2 days. (I live alone)

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Only she who attempts the absurd can achieve the impossible

WHAT???

No one loves you?

"familiarity breeds contempt........" Mark Twain

This is what I always think of when I get too comfortable w/ something. thanks for the reminder to be carefull. Sheared off a blade brush hogging today. Hit a rock and became real solid w/ it. If any one had been near it could have been a flying sword. It is amazing just how far a brush hog can fling stuff.

I was also going over new terrain. I too, keep my cell phone on me and make sure somone knows where I am . But w/ my luck I would call 911 and they would not be able to find me. This is where a trackable cell phone would be nice.

That...wasnt the point of the sigh.
But yes, someone does, thanks for asking.

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Recognize the beauty in things, in creation, even when thats difficult to do.
Be loving, show compassion. Create while we're here.
Enjoy this life, be in this life but not be of it.

The 10 most dangerous jobs
Occupation Fatalities per 100,000
Timber cutters 117.8
Fishers 71.1
Pilots and navigators 69.8
Structural metal workers 58.2
Drivers-sales workers 37.9
Roofers 37
Electrical power installers 32.5
Farm occupations 28
Construction laborers 27.7
Truck drivers 25

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics; survey of occupations with minimum 30 fatalities and 45,000 workers in 2002

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Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain
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Enforced tolerance is oppression

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A little newer list

Rank Occupation Death rate/100,000 Total deaths
1 Fishers and fishing workers 118.4 48
2 Logging workers 92.9 80
3 Aircraft pilots 66.9 81
4 Structural iron and steel workers 55.6 35
5 Refuse and recyclable material collectors 43.8 32
6 Farmers and ranchers 41.1 341
7 Electrical power line installers/repairers 32.7 36
8 Driver/sales workers and truck drivers 29.1 993
9 Miscelleneous agricultural workers 23.2 176
10 Construction laborers 22.7 339

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Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain
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Enforced tolerance is oppression

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ