As of Aug. 13, there had been eight fatal agriculture-related incidents reported in Kansas. That number — tracked by Kansas Farm Bureau — is three more than a year earlier.

In 2018, the state recorded five fatal agriculture-related incidents during the same period.

This year, the victims were all male, ranging in age from young to old.

The deaths included a 5-year-old boy from Reno County who died when he got caught in a power take-off shaft. The boy was standing on the front of a trailer while an auger removed grain from a bin. As the boy was climbing down, his pant leg got caught in the PTO shaft.

Other deaths:

• A 67-year-old Chautauqua County man was traveling westbound in a tractor when he was rear-ended by the operator of a westbound pickup truck.

• A 63-year-old Wilson County man died after falling into a vertical tank while checking the fuel level.

• A 62-year-old Neosho County man suffered fatal injuries while clearing trees.

• A 15-year-old Norton County boy died in a farm machinery accident while feeding cattle.

• A 63-year-old Clay County man died when the tractor he was in rolled over as he was reinforcing a pond dam.

• A 75-year-old Saline County man died while attempting to clean a clogged overflow sewer pipe on a pond when the suction pulled his arm into the pipe and he was unable to free himself.

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Each year, the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter and the advertisers who support this special edition do so to remind farmers and ranchers of the dangers they face on a daily basis. In the I-R’s 2019 section of National Farm & Safety Health Week, you will find stories on the dangers farmers face when working with anhydrous ammonia and other farm resources.

We hope you will read them — and share them with your family. Farmers are not the only ones who should practice safety, as this year’s theme,“Shift Farm Safety into High Gear,” reminds us.

Farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in the U.S. and farm injuries and fatalities are preventable through education.

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More information on farm safety is available from the Kansas Farm Bureau website, www.kfb.org.