Skip to Main Content

Indiana farm fatality summary reminds Hoosier farmers of dangers

Purdue University’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program released the annual Indiana Farm Fatality Summary with Historical Overview, coinciding with National Farm Safety and Health Week, which has been observed the third week of September since 1944. The program reported 21 work-related on-farm deaths in the state in 2019, the fewest number of documented cases since 2013.

Tractors and skid steer loaders were involved in at least eight of the 21 documented fatal farm incidents. Three of the victims were children under the age of 5, while 11 were 60 or older.

“The continued incidence of tractor rollovers indicates that a greater focus on the value of Rollover Protection Structures (ROPS) - especially on tractors used for mowing - could prove beneficial,” the report states.

The report also highlights the continued need for injury prevention educational programs for those 18 and younger.

Purdue University’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program released the annual Indiana Farm Fatality Summary with Historical Overview coinciding with National Farm Safety and Health Week. (Purdue University photo) Purdue University’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program released the annual Indiana Farm Fatality Summary with Historical Overview coinciding with National Farm Safety and Health Week. (Purdue University photo)

The number of farm fatalities for the past 50 years continues to trend lower, probably reflecting safer machinery and work practices while also corresponding with a decline in the number of farmers. No Indiana agency documents farm-related non-fatal injuries, but prior research has indicated that approximately one in every nine Indiana farms has a farm-work-related injury incident that requires medical attention each year.

Bill Field, Purdue agriculture and biological engineering professor and extension safety specialist, has summarized over 1,100 farm fatalities during his career.

“Every one of these lives mattered to someone. Each one was an added cost to the food we enjoy every day.”

As Hoosier farmers prepare for harvest, program members remind farmers to keep safety a top priority and manage the expectations of machinery and people.  

Purdue’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program has monitored farm-related fatalities in Indiana for nearly 60 years using sources including news reports, web searches, personal interviews and voluntary reporting from extension educators and individuals.

The full report is available at: www.inprepared.org.

Featured Stories

Verma with spectroscopy
Light-based tool continuously monitors vaccine quality during production

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need to rapidly develop, produce and...

Read More
Members of the Purdue Student Farm holding the TEAM Award.
Purdue Student Farm wins 2025 TEAM Award

The Purdue Student Farm (PSF), a small-scale sustainable farm managed by the Department of...

Read More
Ellen Van Loo standing in front of the entrance to the Boilermaker Market.
New professor brings expertise in consumer food behavior research

Ellen Van Loo, an expert in the field of consumer food behavior, has joined Purdue...

Read More
rows of corn growing
Cultivating industry partnerships in agriculture: Plant breeding, Beck’s Hybrids and The Data Mine

After decades of recording detailed information about different varieties of crops, their traits...

Read More
Tyler Hoskins collects zebrafish from wetlands near Purdue.
Working together to mitigate forever chemicals

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of chemicals used to make consumer...

Read More
Steve Lindemann wearing lab coat in a lab
Researchers explore connections between human and animal health

Steve Lindemann, associate professor of food science and head of the Diet-Microbiome Interactions...

Read More
To Top