KINGSTON — Farms are one of the most dangerous places in Canada for young boys. More of them are unintentionally killed in farm accidents than by any other cause.

In fact, more young boys are killed in farm accidents than are police officers killed in the line of duty.

From 1990 to 2001, 115 Canadian children from ages one to six died of unintentional agricultural injuries. Almost 80 per cent were male and almost 90 per cent were a relative of the farm operator. During that same time period 19 police officers were killed across Canada.

When it comes to children and risk of death "young children on farms are at the greatest risk," said Dr. Rob Brison, report author and professor in the department of emergency medicine at Queen’s University. "Children one to six make up half of all children under age 18 killed on farm."

This is because farms are homes, as well as places of business. Children take the farm for granted and parents don’t use the same precautions as employers do at other worksites, the report said.

Seventy–three per cent of young children killed on farms, lose their life in one of three ways: they were bystanders who were run over by agricultural machinery; they were an extra rider who fell and were then run over; or and they drowned in man-made water hazards like farm ponds, dugouts or manure lagoons.

The annual rate of agricultural deaths for the age group 1 to 6 exceeded national all-cause unintentional deaths for the same age group by 71 per cent. Accidents and disease are the most common causes of death among young children.

Brison believes boys are more at risk because they are allowed to help out on the farm at an younger age. They are given responsibilities too advanced for their age and he thinks graduated work is the answer.

"The first thing that needs to be realized is that a farm is an industrial worksite," Brison said.

The findings suggest a need to develop simple prevention strategies to remove young children from harm, the report concluded. Brison thinks physicians and health care professionals who care for rural families should take a proactive role by helping farm families become aware there is a problem.

"Prohibiting young children’s access to a worksite is standard practice in virtually all other industries," the report states. "Our findings suggest that discussions with farm parents about high-risk activities should include advice that they never permit small children to ride as passengers on tractors and other agricultural machinery, and that they stop young children from visiting agricultural worksites under any circumstances."

Speaking to Farmers Forum, Brison noted that preventative measures can be taken. Things as simple as placing fences around a hazardous site, like machinery and water sources, can help protect children, he said. Children should have designated play areas, to separate them from the workplace. Also, childcare should be given during the busy fieldwork season so children aren’t in the way, he added.

The Canadian Medical Association Journal published the report on June 6.

The Farm Safety Association reported no accidental deaths of young children in Ontario last year. There were 29 Ontario farm fatalites last year from ages 10 to 88. A 10-year-old boy from Oxford County was killed.

In 2004, five children and teenagers were killed in Ontario, including an 18-month-old boy from Ste-Anne-de-Prescott who drowned in a manure pit.