Three months after farm workers have been placed under the Ontario Health and Safety Act, Ministry of Labour spokesman Patrick O’Gorman says no trends have emerged. Accidents on farms look a lot like they have over the past 20 years.

Since June, O’Gorman said, there have been 14 accidents resulting in injuries and seven accidents resulting in fatalities. The causes are all too familiar. They include being struck by falling material and heavy equipment, electrocution, tractor operation, handling animals. The injuries were caused mostly by moving and running equipment but also from slips and falls.

Ontario has between 16 and 20 fatalities per year but last year there were 25 fatalities. Says the president of the Farm Safety Association, Dean Anderson, "It was a blip." But it probably had a lot to do with stress, farmers working hard and seeing no return for their sweat and investments, he said.

He said the association will continue its role of education and training, adding that about 70 per cent of the accidents were equipment related.

Over the years there have been some successes. They’ve succeeded in getting most granddads from taking children with them on the tractor, he said.