From 1993 to 2009, 509 people lost their lives in farm-related accidents.
Researchers with the UW Center for Agricultural Safety and Health, however, have found that the trend in the number of deaths per year had been gradually declining. During the first five years of the study (1993-97), the average number of annual fatalities were at 36.6. That number dropped to 24.8 fatalities during the last five years of the study.
The leading cause of farm fatalities are tractor accidents, which account for nearly 37 percent of the reported deaths. Being entangled or run over by farm machinery accounts for 36 percent of the deaths.
The Waupaca County UW Extension office organized a farm accident rescue training program Saturday, June 18, at Clinton Farms in Bear Creek.
The Farm Bureau, Waupaca County Emergency Management Director Andy Carlin, and the Fire Chiefs, Firefighters and EMT Association also assisted in the training.
Many safety stations were set up, including one to train emergency workers on how to safely rescue someone from a silo.