Safety in Agriculture

Course Description

AOM 3073 Safety in Agriculture covers "safety concepts, principles, practices, rules and regulations as they relate to agriculture," including "developing and conducting safety programs; conducting safety inspections and accident investigations" (statewide description).

⚠ One institution in Florida teaches it: the College of Central Florida (Ocala), at 3 credits. It is an upper-division course, part of CF's Bachelor of Applied Science in Business and Organizational Management, Agribusiness Specialization, which builds on CF's A.S. in Agribusiness Management. CF describes the program as preparing students to manage an agricultural business, with applied work at its Vintage Farm campus.

Why a manager needs this course

Agriculture has one of the highest fatal-injury rates of any U.S. industry. Tractor overturns, machinery entanglement, falls, heat, livestock, confined spaces such as grain bins and manure pits, and pesticide exposure all contribute. Most farm safety is the employer's responsibility. ⚠⚠ That makes it a management subject, which is why this course sits in a bachelor's program for people who will run operations and supervise crews. Its outcomes are about building and running a safety program, not just working safely yourself.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

The first five follow College of Central Florida's stated outcomes.

• Identify injury-prevention approaches and develop safety programs for an agricultural operation.
• Identify tractor safety practices and tractor specifications, including rollover protective structures (ROPS), seat belts and PTO guarding.
• Apply ergonomics and the safe use of hand and power tools.
• Explain strategies for working safely with disabilities, and for accommodating workers and farmers with disabilities.
• Apply shop safety and pesticide safety techniques.
• Conduct a safety inspection of a farm, shop or facility, and record the findings.
• Conduct an accident investigation and identify root causes and corrective actions.
• Identify the rules and regulations that govern agricultural safety and the employer's obligations under them.

Optional Outcomes

• Write a heat-illness prevention plan suited to Florida's climate.
• Prepare safety training for a crew whose members have limited English.
• Plan for emergencies: hurricanes, fire, chemical spills and medical response at remote sites.

Major Topics

Required Topics

• Causes of agricultural injury and death
• Developing and running a safety program
• Tractor and machinery safety: ROPS, PTO, highway transport
• Ergonomics, hand tools and power tools
• Shop safety
• Pesticide safety and the Worker Protection Standard
• Workers with disabilities (AgrAbility)
• Safety inspections
• Accident investigation
• Rules and regulations

Optional Topics

• Heat stress, sun exposure and lightning, which are serious hazards in Florida
• Livestock handling
• Confined spaces, grain and silo hazards
• Youth on farms

Resources & Tools

• OSHA agricultural standards, 29 CFR Part 1928: rollover protective structures, machinery guarding, field sanitation. Other OSHA general-industry rules also apply to some agricultural work.
• EPA Worker Protection Standard, 40 CFR Part 170: pesticide safety training, restricted-entry intervals, and protective equipment for agricultural workers and handlers.
• The U.S. Department of Labor's Hazardous Occupations Orders for Agriculture, which restrict the work that youths under 16 may do on farms they do not own.
• AgrAbility (USDA-funded), for farming with a disability.
• UF/IFAS Extension agricultural safety publications, and the National Ag Safety Database.
• NIOSH agricultural safety and health resources.

Career Pathways

• Farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers (SOC 11-9013). An operation large enough to employ a salaried manager usually employs a crew, and keeping it safe is that manager's job. See this site's Agricultural Manager career path.
• First-line supervisors of farming workers (SOC 45-1011).
• Occupational health and safety specialists (SOC 19-5011) and technicians (SOC 19-5012) in agriculture, food processing and agribusiness.
• Agricultural insurance and loss control, where inspections and accident investigation are the daily work.
• Extension and farm-safety education.

Special Information

Offering Notes

The only carrier is CF, at 3 credits. CF does not publish contact hours; the guide records 45, the Florida convention for a three-credit lecture course.

Prerequisites

The statewide record lists none. ⚠ This is a 3000-level course in a bachelor's program, and Florida B.A.S. programs normally require admission to the program (usually with an associate degree) before upper-division courses. Check CF's current B.A.S. catalog page for the admission requirements and the course sequence.

⚠ This course does not license or certify you

• Applying restricted-use pesticides outdoors in Florida requires an FDACS applicator licence and an examination (Chapter 487, Florida Statutes). The pesticide-safety unit is a foundation for that exam, not a replacement for it.
• The OSHA 10- and 30-hour outreach cards are separate credentials, often required by employers. Ask whether the course includes one.