Injuries Sprout During Spring Field Work

Crops are not the only thing that sprouts in the spring. The rate of agricultural injury increases consistently during this season as well, brought on by the press of field work and machinery preparations.

"Although the maintenance work on equipment and preparation for the planting season may seem routine, precautions need to be taken to complete those tasks safely," says George Maher an agricultural safety specialist with the North Dakota State University Extension Service. Spring activities include hitching and unhitching cultivators and planting equipment, changing cultivator shovels and other tillage tool maintenance, leading to the most common springtime injuries of sprains, strains, cuts and broken bones.

"Many fingers, toes and backs are injured while hitching and unhitching tillage equipment. How you arrange your equipment in the farmyard area can make life easier and safer. Give some thought as to where to park equipment before unhitching it," Maher says.

Avoid uneven areas for machinery storage. Equipment may move after being released from the tractor. Machinery with integral hitches, such as three-point, are much easier and safer to attach on level ground, he says. Equipment is safer to work on and hitch to the tractor while on relatively flat, level ground. Jacks and blocking that machinery may rest on are not as likely to slip.

"Keep in mind that the area between a tractor and the implement to be attached is a very dangerous zone for the person who is helping to hitch equipment. It is so easy for a foot to slip from a clutch or brake pedal, and the results can be disastrous," Maher notes. While hitching equipment the helper should always stand to the side of the equipment, stepping between only when the machinery is lined up correctly and the tractor is in park or neutral while the brakes are set.

For fewest problems, back the tractor up to the machinery in a straight alignment whenever possible. Locking hitch pins should always be used to keep implements from working loose and causing accidents.

"Too many injuries and deaths are recorded because someone trusted a hydraulic system. If your safety is influenced by hydraulic power or systems, block the machinery in place, very carefully," Maher says. Also, disconnecting hydraulic couplings is much easier and safer when there isn't any pressure on the system, further reinforcing the need for hitch jacks or blocking. Always use transport brackets for cultivator wings while on the road.

It can make a big difference in the control of most machinery if the hydraulic connections are mixed or interchanged. Color coding your tractor and machinery hydraulic connections is a good way to prevent these problems, Maher says. Red and green or yellow and blue are good, usable color combinations. Be sure to check the operation of the hydraulic controls after the hitching is complete and the helper is out of the way. If you know the connections are wrong in the farmyard, you are more likely to make the corrections then than once you are in the field.

It is always a good idea to support machinery with blocks or jacks for the hitch before pulling the pin to unhitch equipment. Letting the implement hitch fall to the ground as you pull away with the tractor will make the next hitching more difficult and dangerous, possibly inviting a back injury. Be sure to use wood or metal blocking since concrete crushes too easily and unexpectedly.

Before you pull or push on a wrench, take a second to see where your elbow or knuckles will hit if the wrench should slip It is usually safer to pull on a wrench than it is to push on it. When removing cultivator shovels and similar parts it is a good idea to apply a shot of penetrating oil after clearing the soil from nuts and bolts. While installing new cultivator shovels you can protect the exposed threads of bolts by using double nuts to cover them.

"Remember that it takes less time to do these safety checks than to go for medical attention," Maher notes. "Skinned knuckles, cuts, bruises and sprains are not a necessary part of working on grain drills, row-crop planters and cultivators."

There are many opportunities for serious accidents to occur when tillage equipment is on the road, he says. When you move farm machinery on the roadway always be alert for traffic and allow it to pass when it is safe for all concerned. Always maintain safe road speeds so that you can control the machinery and avoid undue wear and tear.

The danger is compounded when moving large machinery on roadways after dark and doing so is never worth the risk, Maher says. An SMV (Slow Moving Vehicle) sign should be mounted on all equipment so it is clearly visible from the rear, this is required by law. Clearance lights should be used while on the road in poor visibility conditions such as early dusk.

"Out in the field, in the routine of fieldwork, the opportunities for injury are usually much less, but care is still needed," Maher says. "Watch out for power lines and poles, trees and fences. Turning the equipment at the end of the fields can be dangerous. Don't snag the equipment on the tractor's rear wheels in tight turns."

Always shut the tractor engine off, and put the key in your pocket before leaving the tractor seat when tillage equipment plugs on crop residue, Maher recommends. "You never know when it may slip into gear while you are intertwined in the cultivator. And remember, there is only one seat on the tractor and that is all it takes to do the job, so no riders."

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