ABSTRACT
A large portion of the background material for this chapter was adapted from a review by Davis and Kotowski (2007), who focused on ergonomic risks associated with musculoskeletal injury; herein, we discuss how those risks apply to agriculture. Agricultural production in the United States can be divided into two broad categories: animal production (40%) and crop production (60%) (USDOL, 2005). ese two categories of farm production present di™erent sets of risk factors for work-related injuries and illnesses. Risk factors in animal production include being struck or stepped on by an animal and performing heavy li–ing (e.g., in milking, feeding, transferring, and caring for animals). On the other hand, risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) associated with crop production result from more repetitive activities that o–en involve extreme bending or stooping, working with the hands and arms in awkward positions, and heavy li–ing of agricultural products and equipment. Regardless of the type of production, the majority of workers in this industry are manual laborers (USDOL, 2005).
