The physical strain of dairy farming

Abstract

The aim of this study was to estimate the physical stress and strain in diary farming, using ambulatory heart rate and oxygen consumption measurements. The rate of perceived exertion was estimated with Borg scale. The maximal oxygen consumption was measured in the laboratory. The study group consisted of eight male and 15 female farmers. The handling of feed and manure was the heaviest work task in dairy farming. The aerobic capacity (VO2 max) of female farmers (26 +/- 3 ml/min/kg) was below average, and their work required over 50% of VO2 max during most of the tasks. The VO2 max of male farmers (32 +/- 10 ml/min/kg) was moderate, and most work tasks required below 50% of VO2 max. The mean heart rate in dairy farming tasks was 99 beats min-1 in men and 116 beats min-1 in women. However, according to the rate of perceived exertion, the mean experienced the same work tasks as subjectively more heavy than did the women. The physical strain of female farmers in dairy farming seems to be too high because of heavy work tasks and relatively low VO2 max of women. Special attention should be paid to these factors in the occupational health services for farmers.

Assessment of physiological strain in inland fishing activity

“…It was established that the heart rate in terms of relative cardiac cost is also an equally reliable measure to rationalize the physiological workload since the later showed better correlation with the relative aerobic strain. [19] In the present study, the average value of relative cardiac cost was around 36%, which is almost similar to the value of the acceptable level of relative aerobic strain for Indians. [29] Furthermore, as the inland fishing task as investigated in the present study represents a work stretching much less than 480 min, as with industrial operations, the acceptable limit for the fishermen engaged in different fishing tasks could be set on a higher side than that set for different tasks spanning 8 h. From these facts, it therefore seems to indicate that the workload of the fishermen was within the acceptable limit.…”

“…[19] The relative aerobic strain in the scoop net fishing varied between 30 and 38% of VO 2 max, which compared with the values obtained for different types of coastal fishing tasks, viz., hand line, long line and net fishing but was lower than the strain of fishing with a Danish-seine.…”

Workplace Breathing Rates: Defining Anticipated Values and Ranges for Respirator Certification Testing

“…Estimates of ventilation for tasks performed in an agricultural setting were derived from data reported by Ahonen et al (2) who measured JYo 2 of both male and female dairy farmers during various short-term work tasks. Oxygen consumption data were obtained using an Oxylog.…”

Postural Evaluation in a Poultry Farm for Broiler Chickens

“…Even though automation has proliferated in recent years, manual material handling is still common in agriculture. Many studies have identified its association with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in various kinds of agricultural work, such as a dairy farm [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13], a swinery [14,15,16], a poultry farm [17,18,19], rice cultivation [20], and a pear and apple orchard [21]. These studies have confirmed that static awkward postures and repetitive movements of certain body segments are the risk factors of MSDs.…”