• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.503-507
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• 2011

Objective: This paper presents the factors influencing the effectiveness of materials handling equipments in agriculture. Background: Agriculture is one of the job categories where work-related musculoskeletal disorders(MSDs) are the most common. Statistics shows that majority of farm workers is exposed to repetitive and forceful body movements, lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, or carrying heavy materials. In such a working environment, materials handling equipments are required and introduced to assist in the prevention of MSDs and other farm injuries. Method: Examples of materials handling equipments are rail carts, portable lifts, and bale handlers. Contributing factors influencing the effectiveness of materials handling equipments supplied in agriculture were identified based on the lessons learned from previous government-funded ergonomic projects. Results: Contributing factors identified include: (1) forward-looking attitude for the standardization of farming, its environments, and handling equipments, (2) participation of farm members in the process and evaluation of project, (3) leadership of project manager, (4) reinforcement of safety education and training, and (5) project selection and priority of handling equipment. Conclusion: Government-funded research planners, farmers, ergonomists, and farm machine experts are recommended to consider the factors identified when implementing materials handling equipments in agriculture. Application: Actual or potential application of this research includes recommendation for the effective implementation of material materials handling equipments in agricultural sectors.

• IEMEK Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.299-305
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• 2021

Dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature are the most important factors for fish farming because they affect fish growth and mass mortality of the fish. Therefore, fish farm workers must always check all pools on the farm, but this is very difficult in reality. That's why we developed a control system for smart fish farms. This system includes a gateway, sensor gatherers, and a PC program using LabVIEW. One sensor gatherer can cover up to four pools. The sensor gatherers are connected to the gateway in the form of a bus. For the gateway, the ATmega2560 is used as the main processor for communication and the STM32F429 is used as a sub-processor for displaying LCD. For the sensor gatherer, ATmega2560 is used as the main processor for communication. MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport), RS-485, and Zigbee are used as the communication protocols in the control system. The users can control the temperature and the dissolved oxygen using the PC program. The commands are transferred from the PC program to the gateway through the MQTT protocol. When the gateway gets the commands, it transfers the commands to the appropriate sensor gatherer through RS-485 and Zigbee.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.94-107
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• 1997

Producing organic farm products is one of the high-payoff farming practices considering the rapid increase of consumer's purchasing power. The purpose of this study is to identify the optimal organic farming system in relation to farm income. To cope with the above objectives, present farming conditions and profitability of 15 farmers producing organic products including rice and leaf vegetables as lettuse and cabbage were surveyed in Hongsung and Ahsan Gun, Chungnam Province. Based on the surveyed data, maximization of organic farm income were analyzed under the constrained conditions such as limited monthly labour inputs and competitive use of land by Linear Programming Model. The results of this study can be summarized as follows. 1. In the profitability analysis of 15 farmers producing organic products, rice farmers could earn their farm income more than that of conventional farmers by 50%. On the other hand, the controlled lettuce farmers could get more about 100% than that of it. But the controlled cabbage farm could get more about 40% of it. These organic farm products were saled at high prices comparing with the prices of conventional farm products by 170% ~ 230% even though the crop yields produced by organic materials had decreased. 2. According to the labor requirement of the organically produced crops, rice cultivation was needed more labour inputs than the conventional farming method by 130%. On the other hand lettuce and cabbage could saved labour requirement by 40% and 80% of those respectively. Especially for the rice cultivation concern, higher labor requirement was due to the activities as organic fertilization, soil preparation and pest and weed controll, etc. 3. With the surveyed data from farmers who produced farm commodities, L.P. analysis was implemented to find out the optimul farming system and the maximum income. According to the results of L.P. analysis, 58% of total farm income could get more than the conventional farming system In the case of rice cultivation, one ha of paddy was recommendable to save more labour inputs than the controlled leaf vegetables such as lettuse and cabbage. However, in the controlled leaf vegatables, only 73% of total upland equivalent to 0.3 ha should be cultivated under the condition of labor shortage as the restricted 4 workers. And increasing the size of hogs raising should be recommened to achieve self-sufficiency of organic fertilizer. As pointed out the possibility of organic farming, present farmers producing organic farm products could be able to maximize their income by expanding organic farm size with regard to all conditions of our organic industry. Of course, there are many difficulties in the course of developing organic agriculture. So Government should effort to support the development of our organic agriculture considering the various aspects of production, marketing, Quality certification of organic produces.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2018.05a
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• pp.665-667
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• 2018

The agriculture is the first industrial technology to lay the foundation for human development and is an essential component to human survival. With the emergence of various industries, agriculture has become a relatively neglected industry. However, with the recent development of IT technology, agricultural technology has found an infinite potential for development and has been selected as a promising industry that will not be lost in the future. Smart Farm improved the quality of life by improving the poor working environment of existing farmers. In addition, it is expected that physically disadvantaged workers can participate in the industry, and by promoting the inflow of excellent workers, the staff can be increased and the level can be increased. Currently, smart farms are in the early stages of commercialization and need to develop more diverse technologies. The project aims to popularize smart farms and to collect and database crop growth environment information through sensors.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.237-245
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• 2022

Peach is a typical summer fruit which can be used for various food, processed food, and fragrance ingredients in Korea. Peach is also known as one of serious allergens which make difficulty for farm workers during peach sorting operations. After peach harvesting, it moves to the sorting operations for removing cover material, removing fuzz on peach surface, sorting by size, and packing. The air-samplers and optical particle counters were used to analyze the characteristics of fine dust generation by location and operation characteristics in the experimental peach farms. During removing peach fuzz, the dust concentrations were increased by 6.89 times on total suspended particulate (TSP), 2.13 times on PM-10 (particulate matter), and 1.30 times on PM-2.5 compared to non-working periods, respectively. During removing peach covering materials, the dust concentrations were increased by 3.14 times on TSP, 1.91 times on PM-10, and 1.43 times on PM-2.5 compared to non-working periods, respectively. This represents peach fuzz can be affected to farm workers during peach sorting operations.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.477-486
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• 2014

Objective:This study aims to devise industrial injury prevention measures by analyzing industrial injury characteristics including the status of industrial injuries, source of industrial injury and accident type in order to prevent aging workers' industrial injuries that account for more than half in the workplaces in agriculture. Background: Continuous migration from farm to city takes place among young people in rural areas in Korea, a traditionally agricultural country due to rapid industrialization and economic development. The aging rate in rural areas in 2013 was 37.3%, about three times higher than the total aging rate of 12.2% in Korea. According to industrial injury statistics of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the number of industrial injuries in agriculture shows an uptrend and the industrial injuries of aging workers account for more than 50% each year. Method: Of the 2,970 industrial injury cases occurred in the workplaces in agriculture for five years during 2008 and 2012 offered by a national agency related to health and safety, this study analyzed 1,767 industrial injury cases of aging workers. Results: As a result of an analysis on aging workers' industrial injuries by company size in agriculture, 89.8% of the total number of industrial injuries were analyzed to occur in small scale company. According to aging workers' industrial injuries by source of industrial injury and accident type, the outdoor floor and a fall were analyzed to be the highest at 16.5% and 26.1%, respectively. Conclusion: This study analyzed aging workers' industrial injuries by company size, age, job duration, accident severity, gender, nationality, the source of industrial injury and accident type in order to identify industrial injury characteristics in agriculture. Application: The identification of industrial injury characteristics of aging workers in agriculture is judged to be helpful to devising effective measures to prevent industrial injuries.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.109-117
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• 2020

Background: Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are harmful gases generated during aerobic/anaerobic bacterial decomposition of livestock manure. We evaluated ammonia and hydrogen sulfide concentrations generated from workplaces at livestock farms and determined environmental factors influencing the gas concentrations. Methods: Five commercial swine farms and five poultry farms were selected for monitoring. Real-time monitors were used to measure the ammonia and hydrogen sulfide concentrations and environmental conditions during the manure-handling processes. Monitoring was conducted in the manure storage facility and composting facility. Information on the farm conditions was also collected through interview and walk-through survey. Results: The ammonia concentrations were significantly higher at the swine composting facilities (9.5-43.2 ppm) than at other manure-handling facilities at the swine and poultry farms, and high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide were identified during the manure agitation and mixing process at the swine manure storage facilities (6.9-19.5 ppm). At the poultry manure-handling facilities, the ammonia concentration was higher during the manure-handling processes (2.6-57.9 ppm), and very low hydrogen sulfide concentrations (0-3.4 ppm) were detected. The air temperature and relative humidity, volume of the facility, duration of manure storage, and the number of animals influenced the gas concentrations. Conclusion: A high level of hazardous gases was generated during manure handling, and some levels increased up to risk levels that can threaten workers' health and safety. Some of the farm operational factors were also found to influence the gas levels. By controlling and improving these factors, it would be possible to protect workers' safety and health from occupational risks.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.393-401
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• 2013

Objectives: Endotoxins in dust generated in occupational settings is known to contribute to the occurrence of respiratory illness among workers. The relationship between the level of endotoxins in total dust or respirable particulates collected from swine farms and immunological markers related with respiratory allergy was evaluated among swine husbandry workers. Materials and Methods: Peripheral blood samples were collected from ten workers at ten swine farms at Gyeonggi province, Korea. Peripheral mononuclear cells were stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and ionomycin for 48 hours. The levels of various cytokines produced at culture supernatants were determined using a commercially available ELISA kit. The concentration of particulate matter($PM_{10}$) in the indoor air of the swine farms was evaluated using a PVC membrane filter and mini volume air sampler, and endotoxin levels in the dust were measured by Limulus Amebocyte Lysate Kinetic QCL method. Results: Levels of endotoxins in the total dust were categorized into high(geometric mean: $109.35EU/m^3$) and low concentrations (geometric mean: $0.95EU/m^3$) for five swine farms. Interleukin-4 levels were higher in the high endotoxin group than in the low endotoxin group, while interferon-${\gamma}$ levels were lower in the high endotoxin group than in the low endotoxin group. The ratio (interferon-${\gamma}$ to interleukin-4), indicating immunologic skewedness against allergic reactivities, was lower in the high endotoxin group($1.15{\pm}0.60$) than the low endotoxin group($3.09{\pm}2.38$). In addition, the level of interleukin-13, another cytokine contributing to the occurrence of allergic responses, was significantly higher in the at the high endotoxin group($1.12{\pm}0.37ng/m{\ell}$) than in the low endotoxin group($0.37{\pm}0.04ng/m{\ell}$). Hematologic assessment showed significantly lower cellularity in the number of total leukocytes, neutrophils, and eosinophils in the high endotoxin group than in the low endotoxin group. Conclusions: Even though a sufficient number of swine workers and farms were not investigated, this study generlly suggests that the immunological function of swine farm workers exposed to high levels of endotoxin could be modulated toward allergic reactivities.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.71-81
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• 2020

Enclosed pig house are creating an environment with high concentrations of gas and dust. Poor conditions in pig farms reduce pig weight and increase disease and accidents for livestock workers. In the pig house, the high concentration of harmful gas may cause asphyxiation accidents to workers and chronic respiratory disease by long-term exposure. As pig farm workers have been aging and feminized, the damage to the health of the harsh environment is getting serious, and real-time monitoring is needed to prevent the damage. However, most of the measuring devices related to humidity, harmful gas, and fine dust except temperature sensors are exposed to high concentrations of gas and dust inside pig house and are difficult to withstand for a long time. The purpose of this study is to develop an wearable based device to monitor the hazardous environment exposed to workers working in pig farms. Based on the field monitoring and previous researches, the measurement range and basic specifications of the equipment were selected, and wearable based device was designed in terms of utilization, economic efficiency, size and communication performance. Selected H₂S and NH₃ sensors showed the average error of 5.3% comparing to standard gas concentrations. The measured data can be used to manage the working environment according to the worker's location and to obtain basic data for work safety warning.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.27-45
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• 1990

Two opposing views prevail regarding the economic impact of rural out-migration on the rural areas of origin. The optimistic neoclassical view argues that rapid rural out-migration is not detrimental to the income and welfare of the rural areas of origin, whereas Lipton (1980) argues the opposite. We developed our own alternative model for rural to urban migration, appropriate for rapidly developing economies such as Korea's. This model, which adopts international trade theories of nontraded goods and Dutch Disease to rural to urban migration issues, argues that rural to urban migration is caused mainly by two factors: first, the unprofitability of farming, and second, the decrease in demand for rural nontraded goods and the increase in demand for urban nontraded goods. The unprofitability of farming is caused by the increase in rural wages, which is induced by increasing urban wages in booming urban manufacturing sectors, and by the fact that the cost increases in farming cannot be shifted to consumers, because farm prices are fixed worldwide and because the income demand elasticity for farm products is very low. The demand for nontraded goods decreases in rural and increases in urban areas because population density and income in urban areas increase sharply, while those in rural areas decrease sharply, due to rapid rural to urban migration. Given that the market structure for nontraded goods-namely, service sectors including educational and health facilities-is mostly in monopolistically competitive, and that the demand for nontraded goods comes only from local sources, the urban service sector enjoys economies of scale, and can thus offer services at cheaper prices and in greater variety, whereas the rural service sector cannot enjoy the advantages offered by scale economies. Our view concerning the economic impact of rural to urban migration on rural areas of origin agrees with Lipton's pessimistic view that rural out-migration is detrimental to the income and welfare of rural areas. However, our reasons for the reduction of rural income are different from those in Lipton's model. Lipton argued that rural income and welfare deteriorate mainly because of a shortage of human capital, younger workers and talent resulting from selective rural out-migration. Instead, we believe that rural income declines, first, because a rapid rural-urban migration creates a further shortage of farm labor supplies and increases rural wages, and thus reduces further the profitability of farming and, second, because a rapid rural-urban migration causes a further decline of the rural service sectors. Empirical tests of our major hypotheses using Korean census data from 1966, 1970, 1975, 1980 and 1985 support our own model much more than the neoclassical or Lipton's models. A kun (county) with a large out-migration had a smaller proportion of younger working aged people in the population, and a smaller proportion of highly educated workers. But the productivity of farm workers, measured in terms of fall crops (rice) purchased by the government per farmer or per hectare of irrigated land, did not decline despite the loss of these youths and of human capital. The kun having had a large out-migration had a larger proportion of the population in the farm sector and a smaller proportion in the service sector. The kun having had a large out-migration also had a lower income measured in terms of the proportion of households receiving welfare payments or the amount of provincial taxes paid per household. The lower incomes of these kuns might explain why the kuns that experienced a large out-migration had difficulty in mechanizing farming. Our policy suggestions based on the tests of the currently prevailing hypotheses are as follows: 1) The main cause of farming difficulties is not a lack of human capital, but the in­crease in production costs due to rural wage increases combined with depressed farm output prices. Therefore, a more effective way of helping farm economies is by increasing farm output prices. However, we are not sure whether an increase in farm output prices is desirable in terms of efficiency. 2) It might be worthwhile to attempt to increase the size of farmland holdings per farm household so that the mechanization of farming can be achieved more easily. 3) A kun with large out-migration suffers a deterioration in income and welfare. Therefore, the government should provide a form of subsidization similar to the adjustment assistance provided for international trade. This assistance should not be related to the level of farm output. Otherwise, there is a possibility that we might encourage farm production which would not be profitable in the absence of subsidies. 4) Government intervention in agricultural research and its dissemination, and large-scale social overhead projects in rural areas, carried out by the Korean government, might be desirable from both efficiency and equity points of view. Government interventions in research are justified because of the problems associated with the appropriation of knowledge, and government actions on large-scale projects are justified because they required collective action.