Sustainable Agriculture Literature Review - Boulder County

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In addition to an overall decline in agricultural employment, farm operators are
increasingly utilizing off-farm jobs for a source of secondary income. In Boulder County,
73 percent of operators reported having worked off the farm for a secondary source of
income according to the 2007 Agricultural Census. The frequency of days worked off the
farm increased for nearly all categories from 2002 to 2007 as shown in Figure 37. 738
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Figure 37: Frequency of Non-Farm Work for
Farm Operators in Boulder County 739
The rise in off farm employment is largely attributed to the need for extra income to
maintain the farm and the need for employer sponsored health care coverage. 740 Due to
the large prevalence of self-employment by farm operators and small businesses in rural
areas, adults are less likely than those in urban areas to have health insurance through
their employers. 741 Additionally, as smaller farms continue to face competition from
larger farms, second jobs and urban markets for agricultural products help to provide a
cushion for smaller operations.
Health Issues
The Agricultural Health Study (AHS) is a leading long-term study funded and directed by
the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,
the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health. The study focused on the effects of environmental, occupational,
dietary, and genetic factors on the health of the agricultural population. 742
The overall cancer occurrence among farmers and their spouses was found by the AHS
study to be significantly less than that of other non-farm men and women of the same
age. This was attributed to less frequent use of tobacco products by farmers and a
greater frequency of physical activity on the job than the general population. 743 While the
occurrence of cancer for farmers is generally lower, the AHS study found that farmers
may have an increased likelihood of developing certain types of cancer due to farm-
744, 745
related occupational exposures.
Specific types of cancer that were found to be in excess in the studied farm workers
included lymphohematopoietic cancers, prostate cancer, melanoma, ovarian cancer, and
brain tumors. 746, 747, 748, 749, 750 The increase of specific cancer rates among agricultural
populations has been linked to exposures to sunlight, dusts, pesticides, and other
chemicals present on the farm. The specific contributions from each of these factors
towards the development of cancer in farm workers are not entirely certain and require
additional research and analysis. 751
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