Many who grew up on a farm have memories of lugging heavy buckets during chore time, but a new ISU study will examine the safety of putting children under this type of stress.

The three-year project will be funded by a $255,500 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Charles Schwab, associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering.

“Youth in agriculture [is] an area that hasn’t seen a lot of research,” Schwab said.

The research focuses on finding out whether carrying pails is a safe task for youth from a developmental standpoint, he said.

This project is the first to study carrying five-gallon pails, probably because carrying pails seems relatively safe compared to other farm tasks, such as operating machinery, Schwab said.

Measurements taken in the biomechanics lab in the Forker building will be used to develop guidelines about the kind of loads children should carry.

Tim Derrick, associate professor of health and human performance, said the youth in the study will wear reflective markers and walk across a force plate while carrying a load.

Eight digital cameras will record motion, while the force plate will measure how weight is distributed, he said.

Jason Gillette, assistant professor of health and human performance, said the force plate data will show whether the youth is leaning to one side or is close to slipping.

Combining data from the cameras and the force plate will allow Derrick and Gillette to determine the forces in the subjects’ lower back and shoulders.

They will consider whether carrying certain loads, such as loads that are heavier on one side than the other, puts too much stress on bones and muscles in a way that could affect development, Derrick said.

Previous studies have shown carrying the weight of a backpack on two shoulders is better than the stress of carrying it on one shoulder, he said.

Iowa State’s data will show whether carrying two half-full pails is better than carrying a heavy load in a single five-gallon pail, Derrick said.

Other factors to be considered are the number of buckets, amount of substance in buckets, and the size and shape of buckets, said Steve Freeman, associate professor of industrial education and technology.

Youth from 4-H clubs across the state will participate in the study. Derrick and Gillette will compare the data from the youth with data from a control group of Iowa State students 18 and older, Freeman said.

The first steps in the study, including recruiting participants and purchasing additional equipment for the biomechanics lab, will take place this fall, he said.

Gillette said time this fall will be spent modifying the way data is analyzed, because the data will be from youth rather than adults.

Data collection will take about a year, Gillette said.

Freeman and Schwab will work together to create educational programming informing parents and employers about the guidelines.

Organizations such as the Iowa Farm Safety Council will help distribute the guidelines to other farm safety organizations, Freeman said.

“We’re hoping that this project will be the first of many to base recommendations on hard evidence rather than the consensus process,” Freeman said.