Keeping them (safe) down on the farm

While National Farm Safety and Health Week has come and gone for the year, it's never too late to think about farm safety. Twenty-two people died last year in Illinois from farm-related incidents, 10 fewer than the previous year, according to a study released by Country Insurance & Financial Services. Illinois lost 13 farmers, three children and six non-farm residents from July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2007. While the number of farm deaths for 2006-07 marks the lowest number of farm-related deaths in the last three years, tractor-related deaths continue to be the leading cause of farm-related deaths in Illinois. • Nine of the 22 deaths were tractor-related. • Nearly half of the tractor-related deaths were caused by tractor rollovers. • Twenty-t