Safety consultant urges farms to factor in hidden costs of injuries, explains workers’ comp and OSHA rules

Barrett Parks, a loss-control safety consultant with MCH, told attendees that farm injuries carry large direct and indirect costs and urged farms to make safety part of regular operations. Parks cited Bureau of Labor Statistics figures showing 1,542 agricultural fatalities from 2012–2021 and about 21,000 lost‑time injuries in 2022, and he said total injury-related costs across all industries in 2022 were roughly $167 billion.

Parks said the measurable direct costs include medical bills, replacement wages and damaged equipment, while a larger set of indirect costs — production loss, paperwork and administration, lost morale, supervisors’ time, spoilage and continuing overhead — often go uncounted. He described an additional personal layer of harm: emotional trauma for families, loss of a successor or a senior knowledge holder and the operational risks when that experience disappears from a farm.

On workers’ compensation, Parks said it is a legal obligation (he referenced "Title 39 in the Maine State") and that comp provides financial protection for employers and employees. "If you have a comp policy an employee can't sue you as a business," he said, adding that policies and exemptions vary and definitions for casual or seasonal labor can be legally complex and require specific review.

Explaining premiums, Parks said insurers set base rates by industry, multiply by payroll and then apply an experience-modification rating that raises or lowers the premium. He gave simple examples showing a company with a better experience rating can save tens of thousands of dollars compared with peers with recent claims.

Parks described MCH’s role as a wholesale writer that works with about 400 local agents in the state and pointed to a public safety platform (Workplay safety platform) with guidance for farms. He emphasized that insurers generally seek to help employers fix hazards rather than call enforcement agencies: "We do not" report injuries or hazards to OSHA, he said, citing a confidential relationship between carrier and policyholder.

On federal oversight, Parks discussed OSHA resources and standards (he cited standard "1928"), and noted exemptions for many small farms: operations with fewer than 10 non‑family employees are often not covered by routine OSHA inspections, though certain events still trigger reporting. He summarized reporting deadlines he said apply to non‑exempt operations: fatalities must be reported within 8 hours; inpatient hospitalizations, amputations and loss of an eye within 24 hours; and employers with 10 or more employees must maintain an OSHA 300 log.

Parks listed common causes of farm injuries — roughly a quarter involve on‑road traffic incidents, plus falls, electrocutions, struck‑by and caught‑in accidents — and used recent reenactments and photographs to illustrate hazards (examples included an excavator crushing incident and unguarded conveyor rolls on a potato truck). He urged basic preventive steps such as proper lighting, guarding equipment, replacing old cords and documenting procedures.

The presentation closed with Parks inviting attendees to contact his loss‑control team for site visits and practical guidance on compliance and prevention. He said available insurer resources and targeted safety work often reduce claims and can lower experience modifiers over time.