INDIANA- For the 80th year in a row, the United States is celebrating National Farm Safety and Health Week (NFSHW) during the third week of September—this year, September 15-21.
NFSHW is a time to increase awareness of agriculture’s high injury and fatality risk and improve agricultural health outcomes through outreach and education. Data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injury shows that in 2022, the agriculture, forestry, and fishing industries had the highest rate of fatal work injuries compared to other occupations, at 23.5 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers — the majority due to incidents with transportation or equipment (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023). Preventative education is key to reducing the workplace’s rates of injuries and fatalities, which is aptly mirrored in the 2024 NFSHW theme chosen by the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS), “Don’t Learn Safety by Accident.”
This annual promotion initiated by the National Safety Council has been proclaimed as such by each sitting U.S. President since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944. National Farm Safety and Health Week is led by the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS), the National Safety Council’s agricultural partner.
