The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there were a total of 8,700 nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses for the following Animal Production workers in 2023. “Animal Production” is a term used in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for industries that raise and sell animals or animal products. The great majority of the workers in these industries are on factory farms. The data does not include farms with 10 or fewer workers.[1]
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities Data 2023 (Table 2) https://www.bls.gov/iif/nonfatal-injuries-and-illnesses-tables.htm
Based on the numbers of workers in each category, the weighted average incidence rate for these factory farm workers is 4.8 per 100 workers.[1]
U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities, Incidence rates – detailed industry level 2023 (Table 1).
The average injury and illness rate of 4.8 per 100 factory farm workers is significantly greater than the rate of 2.7 per 100 workers in all goods-producing industries.[1]
U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities, Incidence rates – detailed industry level 2023 (Table 1).
Reports indicate that these figures are vastly underestimated, with the BLS surveys missing over 80% of factory farming (Animal Production) worker cases for injuries and illnesses.[1,2]
The primary reason is because the BLS survey for agricultural industries does not include occupational injuries and illnesses of the self-employed or for workers on farms with 10 or fewer employees.[3] A 2022 investigation conducted by the non-profit media site Civil Eats found that of the farms that specialize in livestock production, about 96% employed fewer than 10 workers.[4]
There is also difficulty in data-gathering due to the transient nature of the work and the widespread employment of undocumented workers.[5]
Leigh, J.P. et al., (2014). An estimate of the U.S. government’s undercount of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in agriculture. Annals of Epidemiology, 24(4), 254–259, p. 257. [“We estimated that SOII missed 73.7% of crop farm cases and 81.9% of animal farm cases for an average of 77.6% for all agriculture.”]
Picciotto, I. et al., (2022) Estimating the Nonfatal Injury Undercount in Agriculture from 2004 to 2019. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, v. 28, no.3, Abstract. [“…for animal production, missing an average of 83% of cases.”]
U.S. Bureau of labor Statistics (2021), Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Data Overview. [“The SOII excludes all work-related fatalities as well as nonfatal work injuries and illnesses to the self-employed; to workers on farms with 10 or fewer employees…”]
Editors (November 14, 2022) Injured and Invisible: Our Methodology, Civil Eats. https://civileats.com/2022/11/14/injured-and-invisible-methodology/
Leigh, J.P. et al., (2014) p. 258. [Note: There are other reasons for the undercount, including failure of workers to report injuries and/or employer failure to record. See, Injury Undercounts to Animal Ag Workers]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 88 occupational fatalities for Animal Production workers in 2022. More than 86% were in the cattle ranching and dairy production industries.[1] The number of fatalities, unlike the data parameters for non-fatal injuries, does include small farms, the self-employed, and family workers.[2]
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Injuries, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), Table A-1. Fatal occupational injuries by industry and event or exposure, all United States, 2022 https://www.bls.gov/iif/fatal-injuries-tables.htm [In addition to cattle ranching and dairy production, this included hog & pig farming and poultry & egg production.]
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries: Concepts. https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cfoi/concepts.htm
The website AgInjuryNews was established by the National Farm Medicine Center as a repository of agricultural injury reports for the U.S. and Canada.[1] While most reports focus on agriculture in general, there are many injuries and fatalities involving livestock or manure handling that are included.
The website was launched as an online tool to store and access newspaper clippings about agricultural incidents. Thus, much of its value is in “tracking injury details through media reports, providing a rich narrative that’s not available in statistical data.”[2]
AgInjuryNews, https://www.aginjurynews.org/Home/Index
Marshfield Clinic Research Institute (2021) AgInjuryNews helps fill the gap in agricultural injury reporting.