Indiana Farm Fatalities Continue Downward Trend

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — A Purdue University report shows 18 farm-related fatalities were documented in Indiana last year, reflecting a trend of fewer deadly accidents on farms.

The 2013 total is eight fewer deaths than the previous year.

The report says Indiana has had fewer than 30 documented deaths from farm-related accidents each year since 1996. Before then, many more deaths than that each year were common going back to at least 1970, with two years having at least 50.

Indiana also has seen a continued decline in the number of farm fatalities involving children and others younger than 21. Only one documented victim in 2013 was under the age of 21: a 15-year-old boy who died when a tractor overturned on him in Elkhart County.