[aarongough]

Farming in general is a dangerous occupation, even in the USA where machinery tends to be reasonably modern and well guarded:

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf

I wasn't able to find a source but my understanding is that being a farmer is many times more dangerous on a percentage basis than being a police officer, and that's only counting fatal accidents. I would bet good money that the rate of disfiguring/crippling injury is way higher.

[perl4ever]

I seem to recall reading that farming is comparable statistically to mining, or even more dangerous. It's pretty much among the top most dangerous occupations, at any rate. Which is consistent with how historically people have given up farming to work in the seemingly brutal sweatshops in cities, whether in the US and Europe, or in the Third World.

Anecdotally, my grandfather died some time after being burned in a conflagration related to cleaning something with gasoline, and none of his children became farmers. One daughter went to college and became a computer programmer, another started a delivery business, his son went to work for a VA hospital, and his wife sold the farm and became a nurse after her husband died.

It's hard to imagine conditions that predate your parents' time, and most people at this point are probably more than one generation away from their farming ancestors.

[protomyth]

The farming industry is a bit dangerous but that includes things not on the farm. Grain Elevators can kill you pretty quick. There are reasons some big ag companies take safety so seriously that standing on an office chair is a fireable offense.

Also, being a police officer, overall, isn’t as deadly as people think. Specific areas are though.