“We wanted to make it easier for first responders and others to report farm accidents to us so that we could gather the most accurate information possible,” said Jimmy Maass, Farm Bureau safety manager. The organization offers farm safety inspections to its members and farm safety presentations to interested organizations and has compiled unofficial farm accident stats since 1994.

“We encourage anyone who knows of a farm accident to go to the website and fill out the form,” Maass said. “It will help us to make sure we account for as many farm accidents as possible, which will help us determine which areas to target in our education and warning efforts.”

According to Farm Bureau findings regarding farm fatalities since 1994, 107 people have died when their tractors overturned; 61 were involved in unspecified tractor or equipment mishaps; and 49 were run over by tractors or other farm equipment. Sixty-one other farm deaths were attributed to operating farm equipment on public roads and to incidents involving animals or all-terrain vehicles.

In 2012, 10 lives were reported lost in Virginia in farm work-related accidents. Tractor runovers accounted for four deaths; unspecified tractor or equipment incidents resulted in three; tractor overturns accounted for one; an all-terrain vehicle accident resulted in one; and an animal-related incident accounted for another. More than 50 people were injured while working on Virginia farms in 2012, and nearly 630 have been injured on farms since 1994.

For more information on safety topics from Farm Bureau, visit FarmBureauAdvantage.com/Safety.