To assess the characteristics of rural emergency medical services providers involved in the prehospital care of victims of agricultural injuries and determine which aspects of an agricultural rescue course were perceived as most useful.

A questionnaire was sent to participants of a course designed for agricultural prehospital providers who had attended a farm accident rescue course between 1986 and 1993.

A rural referral center in central Wisconsin.

The questionnaire was sent to all persons who had participated in the course. Respondents to the questionnaire characterized their service experience and rated the topic areas in usefulness and whether the subject should be included in future courses.

A total of 459 surveys (44% of potential respondents) was returned. Of the respondents, 316 (74.4%) were men, and the mean age was 39.4 years. There were 247 (60.8%) who were volunteers, and an additional 126 (31%) were paid, on-call workers. There were 232 (56.4%) basic providers, and 365 (87.5%) were from a rural area. Many (n = 149; 36.9%) had not responded to farm accidents during the past year. Training course topics rated most useful were machinery extrication, tractor overturn, and enclosed-space rescue.

Respondents to an evaluation of an agricultural rescue course primarily were rural, basic providers. Future development of courses for emergency medical technicians involved in agriculture rescue must account for this level of training. Such courses should be short and modular with an emphasis on continuing education, practice, and focus on the identified needs of the participants.