Many of us will enjoy the sights and sounds of more than one farm show this summer. There will be the latest and biggest of equipment, and at some shows, there will be some interesting antiques. We will run across some old friends and maybe make some new ones. But one thing that I always notice at any farm show I attend is the number of people missing fingers, or an arm, or that are limping.

You have no doubt heard that farming is one of the most hazardous industries in our nation. The National Safety Council tells us that farmers are over five times more likely to be killed doing their work than a worker in the "average" non-agricultural industry. You may also be aware that thousands of disabling injuries occur every year to agricultural workers. Like precision farming, let's bring this satellite view down to earth. Let's listen to some people who may be next in line to lose a finger or arm—or worse.

How do we know they are next in line? Nearly all tragedies follow a near miss or a "wake-up call" that should be taken as a warning. If the warning is not taken, the next incident may be much more serious, but we can learn from our mistakes.

Take Wes, for example. Wes worked in a farm machinery repair shop. One day he was assembling a new manure spreader. The axle had to be bolted in place under the tank spreader; so, Wes had chained the tongue of the spreader to the loader of the shop tractor and lifted the tank spreader up high enough to get the axle under it. He had pushed the axle under the machine being held up momentarily by the tractor loader, but he had to reach under the middle of the tank to properly locate the axle. Just as he positioned himself under the middle of the spreader, he heard the distinct sound of the supporting chain slipping! His reflexes and adrenalin took over as he sprang out from under the machine. At the same instant, he heard the crash of thousands of pounds of steel hit the ground right at his heels! Shaken and pale, he sat on the ground feeling much like a fly that had just escaped a fly swatter. Then he thought, "How stupid to have trusted a loader and chain! I'll never again get under anything that is not solidly blocked up."

Dean is another who recognized his close call as a wake-up call. As a teenager, Dean was helping his dad by operating a corn picker to harvest shelled corn. The husking rolls plugged, so Dean jumped off the tractor and went back to unplug them. As he reached his gloved hand into the husking roll area to pull out the offending cob, he tells me, "It yanked my glove off so fast I didn't even see it go!" Then, he thought about what might have happened if his glove hadn't come off. Now, years later, Dean tells me he still thinks about that incident when he gets off his tractor. Now he turns everything off, especially the PTO, when he has to clean or adjust equipment.

These two fellows are likely to keep all their fingers and toes because they learned from their close calls. How about you? Can you think of a near miss where you were narrowly spared? Are you much more careful around machinery now?

If you are new to farming, having not grown up around tractors, machinery, and large animals, you may not have a wealth of experience to draw from. If you have just retired to the country or have just purchased your first tractor to take care of a few acres, make a point to talk with those who bear the scars of hard lessons. While some, understandably, will be reluctant to share their stories, many will be glad to tell of their experience so you can learn from them. Let their close call or tragedy be your "wake-up call". We at NYCAMH would be glad to help you learn more about farm safety.