Farming is one of the most-deadly jobs in the United States. For young workers, it accounted for 42 percent of all work-related deaths between 1992 and 2000, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. More than 100 children are killed and 26,000 seriously injured in U.S. farm-related accidents each year. Injury and death rates in the Southern region of the U.S. are particularly high. Forty percent of farm youth fatalities and thirty percent of youth injuries reported nationwide are in this region. Research is needed to find effective ways to decrease these numbers. AgTeen began as a three-year research study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). A lot of work has been done focusing on training youth on farm safety topics. This has been done through farm safety camps and other trainings. However, very little research had been done looking at what happens when parents and youth working together on farm safety issues. The AgTeen project examined this important family dynamic and results indicated farm safety for youth is greatly increased when the primary farmer takes an active role in teaching and modeling the same farm practices.
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