The Deadly Mix of Substance Use and Farm Machinery

Jan 30, 2025

By Remington Rice and Samantha Wolfe

Farming is one of the toughest professions, demanding long hours, sharp focus and the ability to handle high-risk situations. Whether it’s operating heavy machinery or working with large animals, the margin for error is razor-thin. Amid these challenges, one factor often overlooked is how substances like alcohol, medications or other drugs can impact farm safety.

Studies have indicated there is a clear link between alcohol use and higher rates of on-farm injuries and fatalities a pattern observed not just in the United States but in other countries as well. This issue is not about individual shortcomings but instead a universal truth: using substances affects everyone’s coordination and reaction times, increasing risks in already hazardous environments.

Here in Michigan, researchers at Michigan State University’s Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine are working to understand the root causes of agricultural workplace injuries and explore ways to improve safety.

Real-world consequences

Stories from farming communities, including here in Michigan, highlight the real risks of substance use in agriculture. While not all fatal incidents undergo toxicology testing and non-fatal injuries often go unreported, 29 Michigan farming deaths between 2002 and 2021 were linked to a non-zero blood alcohol content (BAC). Detailed investigations into incidents occurring in 2002 and 2017 are available on the Michigan State Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation Program (MIFACE) website. These reports can be graphic and difficult to read, but they underscore a painful truth: impaired operation of machinery has led to devastating consequences, with ripple effects felt across families, farms and entire communities.

These stories are not about pointing fingers of blame or shame for substance use. These reports and stories acknowledge the challenges of balancing safety with the demands of farming. They remind us that small, intentional actions, like taking breaks, leaning on support systems, and staying mindful of safety protocols can reduce risks and save lives.

Choices for a safer farm

Farm safety is a shared responsibility. While no one is perfect, taking small steps can help protect yourself, your family and your community. Here are a few practical suggestions:

Avoid substances before or during high-risk tasks. Even small amounts of alcohol and/or some medications can slow reaction times and impact focus. Recognize how substances might affect your safety and that of others around you. Read prescription medication labels carefully for any known side effects associated with that medication use, such as impaired vision or reaction times.
Make safety checks and equipment maintenance a habit. Keeping machinery in top condition reduces the risk of unexpected breakdowns or accidents.
Take breaks, especially during long workdays. Fatigue is a common cause of mistakes. Short pauses can help you recharge and refocus.
Keep personal protective equipment accessible and use it consistently. Gloves, goggles and hearing protection may seem minor, but they can lower the risk of injuries.
Stay current on certifications like pesticide licenses. Keeping up to date ensures you are informed about the latest safety practices.
Establish and follow safety protocols. Simple steps, like ensuring someone is nearby during high-risk tasks, can save lives. Working alone in dangerous situations only increases the risk.

We all face pressure to push through or cut corners, but prioritizing safety makes a lasting difference. Even minor impairments from substance use can lead to serious accidents, so protecting your well-being is a practical way to care for your family and farm.

Healthy ways to manage stress

Stress is a constant in farming, but turning to substance use is not an answer. Reflect on what has worked for you in the past whether it was attending social events with other farmers or community events, taking breaks or leaning on a trusted support system. Sometimes, managing stress is about revisiting and strengthening these healthy habits.

You can also explore new strategies to manage stress. Talking with a friend, family member or counselor can provide relief, while physical activity, mindfulness, or deep breathing can help you recharge and stay focused.

MSU Extension offers stress management courses and free counseling services tailored to farmers, and in a crisis, calling 988 connects you to immediate support. Asking for help is a sign of strength and a step toward a safer, healthier future for yourself and those around you.

Together, we can build a safer future

Farming is a shared effort, and the challenges faced by one farmer are often felt across the community. By prioritizing safety and working together to address stress, we can foster stronger, more resilient agricultural practices. Whether it’s through sharing experiences, supporting one another, or adopting safer habits, every small step contributes to a healthier farming community.

You are not alone on this journey. Together, we can cultivate a safer, more sustainable future for farming and for the generations to come.

Opportunities to connect

Michigan State University Extension also offers a variety of programming and resources to support yourself or loved ones undergoing mental health distress. MSU Extension offers programs such as Mental Health First Aid, which can teach you how to support someone who is experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis.

Source : msu.edu

Video: The 15-Year Bet Behind Every New Variety!

Canada is trying to decide how much agricultural research capacity it can afford to lose. Brian Rossnagel believes the better question is whether the country can afford to rebuild it.

The longtime barley and oat breeder makes the case with a simple fact about his profession: the consequences of today’s decisions may not become visible for 10 or 15 years.

“Pick the right parents. That’s the biggest thing,” Rossnagel says. “If you pick the wrong parents, you’re not going to get anywhere—and you don’t know that until 10 years, 15 years later.”

That warning carries particular weight as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada moves to reduce spending and streamline parts of its science operations. The department’s 2026–27 plan anticipates the loss of approximately 665 positions by 2028–29 and says some research will be reduced where capacity exists in academia or industry. AAFC says the changes will make its science operations more cost-effective over the long term.

For Canada’s seed industry, Rossnagel’s career illustrates what is at stake.

This fall, the retired University of Saskatchewan breeder will be inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame. During his 35-year career at the Crop Development Centre, he helped develop more than 100 barley and oat varieties, including CDC Austenson—one of Western Canada’s most widely grown feed barleys. His induction recognizes not only those varieties, but the collaboration and research system that made them possible.

Rossnagel is quick to emphasize that none of it was the work of one person.

“The first thing I thought about was all the other people who contributed to whatever success I and my program had over the years,” he says. “We know that it’s not an individual who does this. It’s a group—a team.”

That team extends well beyond the breeder whose name appears beside a variety. It includes technicians, pathologists, quality specialists, statisticians, regional testing sites, seed growers and industry partners. It also includes the breeders who came before and those who will carry the germplasm forward.

CDC Fraser barley, for example, moved through three breeding careers. Its parents came from Brian Harvey’s program. Rossnagel advanced the material after Harvey retired, and Aaron Beattie later guided it through registration and release.

That kind of handoff is normal in plant breeding. The person who makes the original cross may never see the resulting variety reach farmers.

It also explains why lost research capacity cannot simply be switched back on when budgets improve.

“If you shut it off, it’s very, very difficult—and particularly costly—to start it up again,” Rossnagel says. “If you have to start from scratch, it’s going to be at least 10 years before anybody notices whether you’re getting anything done or not.”

The concern is not simply how many experimental lines Canada can process. Modern equipment, statistical tools and genetic technologies allow today’s breeding programs to evaluate tens of thousands of lines—far more than Rossnagel could handle when he entered the field in the early 1970s.

But efficiency and automation do not generate every idea.

“If you pare back down, and instead of having six or seven individual scientists concentrating on wheat breeding, you go down and say three people could handle all this, well, that’s half the ideas gone,” he says. “Particularly if you happen to lose the three people who had the really neat and innovative ideas, boy, that’s a problem.”

It is a timely distinction for Canadian agriculture. Consolidating programs may preserve the volume of material moving through a system, at least initially. It may not preserve the diversity of thinking, regional knowledge or willingness to pursue unconventional crosses.

That regional knowledge matters because Canadian agriculture is not one uniform production environment. A variety suited to southern Alberta may face different disease, moisture and maturity pressures than one grown in Manitoba, Ontario or Atlantic Canada.

“Agriculture is applied biology,” Rossnagel says. “Biology, all around the Earth, moves from the poles to the equator. It does not move from Newfoundland to B.C. like politics do.”