Kentucky celebrates farm safety and health week

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Dr. Ryan Quarles honored the state's farmers and proclaimed Sept. 17-23 as Farm Safety and Health Week at a Farmer's Appreciation and Awards Day on the Capitol Lawn Wednesday.

The event also recognized the Raising Hope Initiative, which focuses on the mental and physical health of agricultural producers. The grant-funded initiative is supported by appropriations from the Kentucky General Assembly and is a partnership with several state agencies and universities.

During the event, Commissioner Quarles presented honorary commissioner awards to Dr. Cheryl Witt, Dr. Susan Jones, and Dr. Joan Mazur, the three healthcare professionals who saw the need for a farmer mental health and stress program and contacted the KDA for assistance in getting the program started.

Three Kentucky farmers were also honored for their work to promote safety and mental health benefits to their communities:

• Billy Ray Smith, former agriculture commissioner, started the Farm and Safety Program for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

• Dale Appleman, with Appleman Farms, has hosted and furnished equipment for several grain rescue classes in the past 25 years.

• John and Jerry Griffith, out of Western Kentucky, have hosted numerous farm safety days and help procure equipment for farm safety devices. Dr. Cheryl Witt presented Dr. Debbie Reed with the first Friends of Raising Hope award for taking her rural health classes to rural areas where farmers and farm families were located, raising hope for those in often forgotten parts of the state.

Commissioner Quarles emphasized the importance of farm safety and health, noting that 17 Kentuckians engaged in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting died on the job in 2022. Of those fatalities, nine involved agricultural machinery, making it the second leading cause of occupational fatalities in Kentucky.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture's Farm Safety and Health program, which started 25 years ago this month, travels the state and the nation training farmers and rescuers in safety precautions to prevent such tragedies on the farm. The farm and home safety program averages more than 100 events annually.