Bob Aherin - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Bob Aherin

Journal of Agromedicine, Nov 10, 2020

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Agr... more The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) AgrAbility Program was established as part of the 1990 Farm Bill. It functions through partnerships between land grant universities and nonprofit disability organizations to improve the independence and quality of life of ranchers and farmers with disabilities. This article reports on analyses of the first 25 years of demographic data from clients served by funded state AgrAbility projects. Between 1991 and 2016, State or Regional AgrAbility Projects (SRAPs) provided information, education, and service annually to an estimated average of 490 new clients for a total of 11,754 new clients. New clients' average age was 52.1 with 75.1% male. Primary causes of reported disabilities were chronic nonincident-related disabilities (41.7%), non-agricultural incidents (32.2%), and agricultural incidents (19.5%). Typically AgrAbility served clients for one to 74 months (M = 14.85 months), because of the severity of their disabilities, the deterioration of their situation, and the years it sometimes took to assist them in reaching their goals. Combining new, ongoing, reopened, and closed case reports, SRAPs served approximately 1,190 clients annually on average. The average age of new, ongoing, reopened, and closed case reports was 52.7 with 78.0% male. Data collection, analyses, and reporting of client data presented a means of providing program accountability and of helping guide future programming efforts. Findings were used by stakeholders, policymakers, and decision-makers to justify the continued inclusion of the AgrAbility Program in the 2018 USDA Farm Bill.

Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, 1994

Paper - American Society of Agricultural Engineers, Dec 1, 1985

Journal of agricultural safety and health, 2018

Health limitations and disabilities among farmers, farmworkers, and farm family members may have ... more Health limitations and disabilities among farmers, farmworkers, and farm family members may have implications on their day-today activities and well-being as well as the farm business, but little is known about the extent of these limitations and disabilities. Using the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) files from 2008 to 2016, the following questions were examined: what is the prevalence of disability in the overall farm population; what is the prevalence of health difficulties and disability among farmers, farmworkers, and farm family members; and do farmer and farmworker disability prevalence rates vary over time, by state, gender, or race/ethnicity. Finally, the effects of demographic factors were estimated on the likelihood that farmers and farmworkers might experience a disability. The findings of this study indicated that the disability rate in the farm population was 12.9%. On average, almost two out of ten farmers (19.2%) and nearly one out of ten farmworkers (9.0%) had a disability. One in 25 farm family children (4.2%, ages 6 to 17) and slightly more than two in 25 farm family adults (10.5%) had a disability.

Journal of Agromedicine, Jul 2, 2020

Purpose: Moving grain into and out of storage is recognized as highly hazardous, resulting in hun... more Purpose: Moving grain into and out of storage is recognized as highly hazardous, resulting in hundreds of injuries and deaths. The Grain Handling Safety Coalition (GHSC) has been providing safety and health training to agricultural workers and

Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 1991

Capacitive proximity sensors can detect a human body at short range without responding to small o... more Capacitive proximity sensors can detect a human body at short range without responding to small objects or dry organic matter. They can function when covered with water or mud. Possible uses include seat switches, floor switches, guards on the entrances to dangerous areas, and emergency power cutoffs on farm machinery. A prototype was built with a range of up to 20 cm.

Journal of agricultural safety and health, 2022

HighlightsWe identified 510 fatal agricultural incidents in Illinois from 1999 to 2019.Tractors a... more HighlightsWe identified 510 fatal agricultural incidents in Illinois from 1999 to 2019.Tractors and roadway-related incidents were the two leading sources of fatalities.Older farmers (65 and older) accounted for the highest percentage of fatalities.Among tractor-related incidents, overturns accounted for the highest percentage.. The objective of this study was to analyze fatal injury trends and injury types in Illinois from 1999 to 2019. Data on fatal farm injuries in Illinois were collected from a newspaper clipping service. The data were analyzed by incident type and victim age. The types of farm-related incidents were classified as confined space, ATV, tractor, electrical, farm equipment, and other. From 1999 to 2019, the University of Illinois reported 510 fatal incidents, of which 213 (42%) were tractor-related. Tractor-related incidents represented the largest proportion of fatalities, followed by 82 (16%) roadway-related fatalities and 45 (9%) grain bin fatalities. In the past two decades, there has been an average of 24 fatalities per year. The number of incidents has declined over time, and the five-year moving average for 2019 was approximately 17 incidents. However, the proportion of tractor-related fatalities has remained consistent overtime and represents approximately 34% to 46% of all incidents per year on a five-year moving average. The results reflect a decreasing number of total farm fatalities in the past two decades with yearly fluctuations. Moreover, the results suggest that tractors remain one of the main causes of farm fatalities in Illinois. These results provide a better understanding of agricultural injuries in Illinois, which will help design targeted outreach efforts and provide new focus areas for research. Keywords: Agricultural fatality, Agriculture injuries, Farm fatalities, Injury, Newspaper clippings, Tractor fatalities.

Forensic engineering, Dec 1, 1991

CRC Press eBooks, Oct 21, 2021

This archival publication may not reflect current scientific knowledge or recommendations. Curren... more This archival publication may not reflect current scientific knowledge or recommendations. Current information available from the University of Minnesota Extension: https://www.extension.umn.edu

Journal of Agromedicine, Apr 3, 2014

exposure limits. Characterizing airborne contaminants in swine production operations by type of f... more exposure limits. Characterizing airborne contaminants in swine production operations by type of facility will identify the potential impact facility type has on workers, which can then be evaluated along with animal welfare needs. Understanding variability of exposure by type of operation will inform future research on the control of air contaminants within these systems. Additionally, studies that evaluate potential respiratory health effects will be better designed with knowledge of the range and types of exposures. The second phase of this study will repeat these assessments in several facilities with differing configurations to characterize the range of these exposures across the industry.

Roadway hazards A 48-year-old father of three was driving a tractor pulling a hay baler on a stat... more Roadway hazards A 48-year-old father of three was driving a tractor pulling a hay baler on a state route when a car hit the tractor as it was trying to make a left turn. The driver of the automobile was attempting to pass the tractor when the incident occurred. The automobile driver was treated and released from the community hospital after the crash. The driver of the tractor was pronounced dead at the scene by the county coroner. There were over 2,250 farm-related highway crashes in which 566 persons were injured and 33 killed in the last five years according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

12 pages; includes drawings. This archival publication may not reflect current scientific knowled... more 12 pages; includes drawings. This archival publication may not reflect current scientific knowledge or recommendations. Current information available from the University of Minnesota Extension: https://www.extension.umn.edu.