ROCHESTER, N.Y. -
Paramedics can pry out of a
crumpled car, but even well
trained squads may be stymied by
an upended tractor or an 80-foot
silo.
You can help increase your
chances of recovering from a farm
accident by making sure your local
emergency rescue squads have the
training offered by a program
called Farm Medic, based in
Rochester, N.Y.
There have been rough attempts
at farm rescue programs over the
years, but Farm Medic may be one
of the most successful. In its first
two years, it’s trained more than 70
people in four states. An in
structor, in turn, teaches members
of his squad, whether it is a
professional ambulance service or
the local volunteer fire depart
ment.
“There’s a great deal of dif
ference between auto extrication
and farm implement extrication,”
instructor Tom Krenzer of the
Rush Volunteer Fire Department
in Rush, N.Y., recently told a
group of trainees. “We’re not
trying to make doctors out of you.
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Farm Medic trains farm
We’re not trying to make farmers
out of you. We just want to let you
know what to expect when you pull
up to a farm place.”
David Sanger of the New York
State Farm Bureau helped start
the program after a conference
with paramedics. He found that
they were well-trained in accidents
around the home or on highways,
“but when they got to a farm, they
said there were things they’d never
encountered. They really didn’t
know how to act.”
Sanger was doubly concerned
about the dangers of farming.
“I had along with me what was
left of my son’s jeans after he got
caught in a power take-off of the
manure spreader.” Sanger says.
“He was lucky since he’d just shut
it off, so he could brace himself
until it wound down. But to look at
the jeans - all that was left was the
waistband and a little bit of the top
- I wondered what would have
happened if we’d had to get him out
of there.”
The New York State Farm
Bureau and Farm Family In
surance offered to finance the
development of a specialized farm
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rescue training program. Empire
9, a nine-county emergency
medical program based on
Rochester, took them up on the
offer and launched Farm Medic in
1982.
The dangers of farming are well
documented. The farmer is often
alone, working quickly, reaching
around gears and stepping over
augers. Death and injury rates in
agriculture have been first or
second among all industries for
years. In 1982, the last period
reported by the national Safety
Council, there were 54 deaths per
100.000 workers in mining, 52 per
100.000 in agriculture. The national
average for all industries was 11.
There is no central source for
accidents that are strictly farm
related, so John Pollock,
agriculture safety specialist with
the New York Extension Service at
Cornell University, has organized
a network of volunteers to report
accidents.
Early results show between
seven to eight injuries per 100 farm
workers, with the reporting
weighted toward dairy farming,
which is among the safest
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agricultural areas.
Farm Medic seeks to help
balance the scales with training
sessions that have attracted far
mers as well as paramedics.
Walter H. Weitgrefe, chairman of
the Department of Agricultural
Industries at the State University
of New York in Alfred, says the
program is of interest to his
faculty.
“We’ve seen our students get
hurt, maimed or killed,” he says,
watching a recent demonstration
of a silo rescue. “Our instructors
here, they’ll incorporate this into
their courses so the students are as
aware of the danger points as the
rescue teams.”
Instructor Tom Krenzer tries to
give his classes of volunteer
firemen and women some idea of
the special circumstances on a
farm.
What you can expect, Krenzer
says, is a trauma, often with loss of
blood, usually with shock. Part of
the problem is the nature of far
ming.
“Farmers do not call for help,”
Krenzer says. “They do not want to
bother people. They don’t want
RES
their neighbors to know how stupid
they were by putting their hand in
there in the first place.
“So by the time you get the call,
it’s a traumatic situation. Chances
are the wife, son, the family is
right there. You’ve got to get them
out of there before you can begin to
extricate.”
There may be other unexpected
things - acres of soft ground that
could mire an ambulance. Krenzer
suggests using farm equipment to
transport supplies to the victim if
that’s the case.
Once there, usual tools like a
jack may not work, sinking into the
earth instead of hoisting a tractor.
A squad should be equipped with or
have access to inflatable air bags.
While rescue at the site depends
on paramedics, there are some
things a family can do before the
fact to speed the service, says Ted
Halpin, Empire 9’s farm accident
rescue coordinator.
For instance, farmers should
prepare a map of the farm,
identifying buildings by number so
time isn’t wasted when minutes
count. It’s also valuable to point
out just where the “back 40” is or if
there’s a slough or a gate between
the road and the victim.
Clearly mark the “Off” button
on each piece of equipment, from
tractors to feed grinders. Teach
members of your family how to
turn off equipment.
Farm Medic currently is
training people in New York,
Vermont, New Hampshire and
Connecticut. It’s a non-profit
service, with nominal fees charged
to cover expenses, such as the
Farm Accident Rescue booklet
prepared by the Cooperative
Extension, Northeast Regional
Agricultural Engineering Service
at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
For more information about the
program, write Farm Medic,
Empire 9 Emergency Medical
Services Program, 224 Alexander
St., Rochester, N.Y. 14607.
Rodale to sponsor
field tour
KUTZTOWN - The Rodale
Research Center in Kutztown is
holding its third annual field tour
for farmers on Wednesday, Aug.
15. This half-day tour of research
projects focuses on techniques and
ideas that can helf farmers reduce
their input expenses and
regenerate soil health.
The projects to be reviewed
include a five-year study of ways to
maintain yields and income while
coverting from a chemically
intensive system of farming to a
low-input system; overseeding
legumes into row crops to supply
nitrogen and reduce erosion; a
study comparing effectiveness of
fresh manure and composted
manure; and results of a five-year
economic and crop analysis of a
nearby 320 acre beef operation.
The first tour will run from 9:30
a.m. until noon and the second will
be conducted from 1 p.m. until 3:30
p.m. in the afternoon. Visitors are
welcome to lunch on the
schoolhouse grounds and tour the
rest of the projects in vegetable
production, fish farming, new
crops and entomology on their
own.
The Research Center is located
six miles northeast of Kutztown on
Siegfriedale Road off Grim Road
"in Maxatawny Township, Berks
County. Signs are located along
Route 222 to indicate where to turn
coming from either Allentown or
Reading.
For a detailed map or more
information, contact Nancy
Nickum Bailey or Craig Cramer at
the Rodale Research Center, Rl,
Box 323, Kutztown, PA 19530 or
telephone at (215) 683-6383 or 683-
6302.