Farmer killed after an electrical shock and falling off a malfunctioning irrigation system on July 11, 1998 in St Joseph County according to information supplied by the county central dispatch.

The 53-year-old farmer was apparently working on the irrigation system with his wife using two-way radios for communication. She was at the power supply, he was at the other end of the irrigation system. Apparently his fingers contacted some voltage which traveled from his fingers and exited his chest. It appears that the farmer fell from the top of the irrigation system after being shocked and landed on the ground right in front of the back tire of the irrigation drive wheel. According to the family doctor and evidence at the scene, the cause of death was apparently electrocution.

SAFETY TIP: Maintenance of elevated equipment may require a working platform or ladder to offer adequate secure footing and the ability to work on the equipment without fatigue or overreaching which could cause loss of balance. Electrical devices should be locked in the off position or an electrical disconnect at the point of repair should be utilized.

Howard Doss

The information to date indicates the following Michigan traumatic agricultural deaths:

- 56 Year Old Killed w/Backhoe-Trench Collapse , Oct 19
- 55 Year Old Dies After Exposure in Silo, September 26
- 68 Year Old Killed Falling Off Tractor on September 23
- 76 Year Old Killed After Falling Off Tractor, Sept
- 09 Year Old Killed Falling Off Van, Fruit Farm on July 28
- 02 Year Old Killed After Falling Off Tractor on July 13
- 32 Year Old Killed When Run Over- Bale Wagon July 31
- 53 Year Old Killed When Electrocuted- Irrigation July 11
- 26 Year Old Killed In Skid -Steer Loader on June 11
- 30 Year Old Killed in PTO/ Manure Spreader- March 13

Please send or fax the details of other deaths. Sending farm injury news clippings and reports to me will increase the Michigan farm safety data accuracy. High-risk work activities can then be identified and current farm operation hazard warnings can be issued. Your news clippings and fax or email reports are needed to keep the agricultural industry’s risk assessment current as only paid employees are reported in Michigan governmental statistics. Family or owner/operator farm workers are the majority of Michigan’s farm labor force. MSU Extension is the only source for such statistics with your help.

Howard Doss

— Wrap up 424 feet of shoe lace in one minute at 540 revolutions per minute (rpm) or 785 feet of shoe lace at 1,000 rpm.
— Wrap your arm or leg around the PTO driveline nine times in one second at 540 rpm, or nearly 16 times in one second at 1,000 rpm.
— Produce second degree burns on your skin, even if you’re lucky enough that the PTO strips only the cotton clothing from your body. 
   Worse yet, nylon and other synthetics will cut into skin and muscle tissue, rather than rub across it.
— Grind away skin, muscles, tendons and break bones in less than ¾ of one second when you are caught by an unshielded PTO
   driveline.     
— Deliver nearly all of a tractor’s horsepower to the driveline. A very strong man can generate about ¾ of one horsepower. There is 
   simply no contest; even between a very strong man and a PTO driveline –the machine always wins.

Howard Doss