Farmers May Face Stricter Safety Regulations
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co) If farmers don’t take it
upon themselves to further reduce
work hazards, they may risk more
stringent regulations, said a farm
safety expert in Penn State’s Col
lege of Agricultural Sciences.
“Recent high-profile farm tra
gedies involving children have eli
cited calls for stricter farm safety
rules,” said Dr. Dennis Murphy,
prolcssor of agricultural engineer
ing ‘The public is starting to feel
that farmers don’t do enough to
promote safety among them
selves.
“Farmers should ask them
selves whether they want to make
farming safer or face new regula
tions,” Murphy said. “Do we
change our safety habits voluntari
ly or because we arc required to do
so 9 ”
Compared to other industries,
farming has relatively few safety
and health regulations. “Family
Force Controls.
In developing FORCE soil
insecticide, ICI simulated and improved on the
powerful chemistry found in chrysanthemum
flowers. The result is the first pvrethroid insecticide
designed for soil application
Because of this unique chemistry, FORCE ranks
low in mammalian toxicitv, which means very low
hazard to humans In addition, the low water solu
bility and soil mobility of FORCE greatly reduces
any risk of leaching or groundwater contamination.
FORCE *■
FORCE
FOfTCE
FORCE i-si
ALL-TERRAIN
BANDERS
Available To Force Users
and small farm operations arc ex
cluded from most regulations,”
said Murphy. “A lack of enforce
ment for those who are covered
makes many regulations seem
more voluntary than required.”
Little evidence exists to suggest
that more regulations would make
farms safer, Murphy said. “Many
farmers and farm employers sec
regulations as government med
dling in business affairs,” he said.
“This ultimately discourages
compliance with both the spirit
and the letter of regulations. Rules
that are seen as intrusive or violat
ing common sense often are ignor
ed or deliberately subverted.”
Because of this, farmers may
risk initiating a cycle of progres
sively tighter regulations. “Rules
lend to simplify the cause of injury
or illness to a single factor,” he
said. “If a safety problem is caus
ed by a particular behavior, a re
gulation is passed to slop the beha-
y r.
J tT'
FORCED
fissr ic _ i
vior.
“If accidents aren’t reduced, the
problem will be re-examined, ad
ditional causes found, and more
regulations proposed,” Murphy
said. “This can continue indefin
itely, with the rules gelling more
and more burdensome and im
practical.”
Regulations also can stifle de
velopment of creative solutions to
risks. “Regulations usually pro
vide just one way to deal with an
Mentor, Ohio Robert T. Wil
liams has joined ISK Biotech Cor
poration, the manufacturer of agri
cultural and specialty chemical
products, as information special
ist. Previously, Williams was data
evaluation specialist with Life
Cutworm Application Rates.
FORCE may be applied in a T-band in front of the
press wheels, in a band behind the press wheels,
or in-furrow.
CONTACT YOUR LOCAL ICI DEALER
No other soil insrttieidc controls as much as FORCL* w hen it tomts to
ptrlorm.mt t ae mist ,1 w itit \ inel> ol pests Not onh dots FORC L control
looruorms it ontperlonns 1 orsh.in 83% to "’()% on tutworms auonline
to |o';i (u Id trials Counttr t in I t\en tout h t utworms I ORCt also works
sienitu.mtK ht tit t ih in C oiinlir ot I orsb.m ae mist w in wot ms and whin emhs
1 ORC L works in all w tat hr i conditions and won I inttrat t with the restut
herbicides \i tt ni and Htamn It s c.cs> to see wh\ I ORCI is a generation
ahead—tor the erne rat ions ahead
< ICO /IMCf hk FORi. I* 1 *K*J. iwik
Force
IhiuSoimi nuir tu
Information
Joins ISK
Apply FORCE
at 8 to 10 oz per 1,000 linear row feet The lbs /acre
equivalent rates are
5 !h\ pir damn 40" rows
paaaton 3ti"rows
1 i lh' ptrdireon 3n"rows
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 20 1993-C3
issue,” he said. “But farms arc so
diverse that a single solution rare
ly makes practical or economic
sense for each farm. Still, regula
tions apply to all, whether practi
cal or not.”
Murphpy’s new book, “Safely
and Health for Production Agri
culture,” is published by the
American Society of Agricultural
Engineers. The book details speci
fic farm hazards and explores
broader issues underlying farm
Specialist
Systems, Incorporated in Beach
wood, Ohio.
In his new position, Williams is
responsible for managing ISK
Biotech’s technical data bases,
including systems for acquisition,
transfcrral, storage, and retrieval
'' lbs per dire on 34" rows
b 2 lbs per aire on 32" tow
M ~ Ihs per acre on 30" rows
A Generation Ahead
For The Generations Ahead
safety policies. Chapters discuss
general safely principles and spe
cific strategies used to prevent and
reduce injuries.
“Safety and Health for Produc
tion Agriculture” is available from
the American Society of Agricul
tural Engineers, Department 1620,
2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph, Ml
49805-9659. More information is
available from the ASAE ordering
department at (616) 429-0200,
ext. 41.
Biotech
of information. He reports to
Robert E. Moser, manager of cor
porate technology.
Williams holds a bachelor’s
degree in biology from Bowling
Green State University m Bowling
Green, Ohio
Fire Relief
Fund Begins
REYNOLDSBURG,
Ohio A fire relief
fund has been started for
the Wilmer Guyton
Family of Middletown,
Md., after a fire destroy
ed their bam, milking
facilities, hay, straw and
feed on Sunday, Jan. 24.
The Middletown Val
ley 4-H Dairy Club has
set up this relief fund at
the Middletown Valley
Bank, Middletown, Md.
For more information,
contact Scott and Judy
Hood, 6303 Paul Rudy
Rd., Middletown, Md.
21769. Phone
301/473-5052.
The Guyton Family
owns registered Guern
sey cattle and has been
active in the Maryland
Guernsey Breeders’
Association and Ameri
can Guernsey Associa
tion. The Guyton herd is
currently being housed
at a neighboring dairy
until their facilities arc
in operation again.
The American
Guernsey Association is
the national organisa
tion for the registration
and promotion of
Guernsey cattle and is
headquartered in Rey
noldsburg, Ohio.
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