CPSC NEISS · code 1430

Seed And Fertilizer Spreaders

Seed And Fertilizer Spreaders: danger rank #659 of 838 is not ER-volume rank #729 of 838 (147 estimated ER visits a year; declining by about 17% over the last five years).

Lawn & Garden Equipment CPSC NEISS through 2024

Danger score versus ER volume

Danger score versus ER volume

According to CPSC NEISS 2005-2024, Seed And Fertilizer Spreaders ranks #659 of 838 by danger score (30/100) at ER-volume #729 of 838 (147/yr). They are not the same ranking.

#659
danger rank of 838
#729
ER-volume rank of 838
30/100
danger score
147/yr
estimated ER visits (avg)

Danger score combines injury volume, hospitalization, fatality, and five-year trend. ER volume is the average annual NEISS estimate alone. Rank 1 is highest on each list.

Where this category's danger score sits nationally

Danger score (30/100) across 838 scored CPSC product categories

30 Among the lowest lower than 79% of 838 product categories

scored CPSC product categories, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more product categories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source CPSC NEISS, PlainSafety danger-score model · 2024

Composite verdict

Composite Safety Score: 40/100

One verdict blending 4 independently-sourced dimensions from two separate CPSC systems, each benchmarked against all 838 scored product categories by percentile rather than raw value, so no single huge-volume category can dominate the scale.

C
Dimension Value National percentile Weight applied Source
Injury severity (hospitalization + fatality blend) 11 79th 35% CPSC NEISS 20-year severity index
Annual ER injury volume 147 11th 30% CPSC NEISS estimated annual ER-treated injuries
5-year injury trend -17% 39th 15% CPSC NEISS 5-year % change in ER-treated injuries
Consumer incident reports 1 18th 20% CPSC SaferProducts.gov public incident report count

Methodology: each dimension is ranked against the full population's p10/p25/p50/p75/p90 breakpoints and interpolated to a 0-100 percentile; the composite is the weighted average of available percentiles. See methodology for the full benchmark table.

Where 2,944 estimated ER injuries land on the body

Body-part shares from the same CPSC NEISS injury_types extract for product code 1430. Segments sum to 2,944 - a body-map mix, not a danger score or ER-volume rank.

Two danger lenses

Same-group peer scores and this product's dial

The bars compare PlainSafety danger scores inside the Lawn & Garden Equipment group (same CPSC NEISS extract). The dial is this product's score alone on the Low/Moderate/High bands. Do not read a peer bar as an ER-visit count.

Lawn & Garden Equipment danger scores

1. Lawn Mowers, Not Specified47/1002. Riding Power Lawn Mowers44/1003. Manual Snow Or Ice Remova…44/1004. Snow Throwers, Blowers44/1005. Decorative Yard Equipment…43/1006. Garden Hoses, Nozzles Or …42/1007. Pruning Or Trimming Equip…41/1008. Seed And Fertilizer Sprea…30/100
Higher score = higher composite danger in this group. Peer set is other scored products sharing the same CPSC group.
0/100100/10030/100
PlainSafety danger score · Seed And Fertilizer Spreaders

Source: CPSC NEISS danger-score model As of 2024

How this 30/100 score is built

The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for seed and fertilizer spreaders - no opinion, no editorializing:

  • Injury volume 147 ER visits/yr Low volume
  • Severity (hospitalization rate) 11.1% High admission rate
  • Fatality rate 0.00% No recorded fatalities
  • 5-year trend-17%

Band labels compare this category against the corpus of 838 scored CPSC product categories, see the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.

What the CPSC Data Shows

Across the 20-year NEISS window from 2005 to 2024, injury counts for seed and fertilizer spreaders are declining by about 17% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2012 (280 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2021 (57 estimated visits). The single most common ER diagnosis is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 413 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the finger (227 cases). The 55-64 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 865 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 11.1% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.

Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 1 consumer incident report filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how seed and fertilizer spreaders fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.

Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)

050100150200250300 20052008201120142017202020232024 152
Estimated annual emergency-room visits for Seed And Fertilizer Spreaders, CPSC NEISS

Source: CPSC NEISS national injury estimates As of 2024

Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only

Who Gets Injured?

Age Group Male Female Total
0-4 89 161 250
5-14 175 62 237
15-24 70 0 70
25-34 89 0 89
35-44 79 130 209
45-54 187 62 249
55-64 639 226 865
65-74 99 30 129
75+ 688 156 844

Most Common Injuries

Body Part Diagnosis Est. Injuries
Head Internal Injury 413
Finger Laceration 227
Face Contusions, Abr. 226
Eyeball Contusions, Abr. 152
Upper Trunk Other 152
Eyeball Derma/conjunct 149
Lower Trunk Other 143
Lower Leg Avulsion 103
Toe Fracture 97
Ear Foreign Body 96
Shoulder Fracture 84
Face Foreign Body 81
Internal Aspiration 80
Upper Trunk Fracture 75
All Parts Body Poisoning 74

Severity Breakdown

Treated/examined And Released 84.2% (2,478)
Treated And Admitted/hospitalized 9.3% (274)
Held For Observation 3.7% (108)
Treated And Transferred 2.9% (84)

ER Visit Narratives

Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.

Age 70 · Male · Lower Trunk · Other · 2024

70YOM TO ER FOR LOW BACK PAIN AFTER TWISTING LOW BACK AT HOME WHILE MOVING 20# BAG OF SEED DX ML LOW BACK PAIN W/O SCIATICA

Age 46 · Male · Internal · Ingestion · 2023

46YOM PRESENTS WITH COMPLAINT OF FOREIGN BODY SENSATION IN THROAT AFTER DRINKING COFFEE WITH ANISE SEED IN IT. PT IS ABLE TO SPEAK IN FULL SENTENCES AND DENIES SHORTNESS OF BREATH AND DIFFICULTY SWALLOWING. DX: FOREIGN BODY IN PHARYNX

Age 70 · Male · Finger · Amputation · 2022

70YOM CAUGHT FINGER IN A SPREADER. DX: PARTIAL AMPUTATION OF RING FINGER

Age 77 · Male · All Parts Body · Other · 2021

77 YOM WAS PUASHING THE FERTILIZER SPREADER IN THE YARD TODAY WHEN HE FELT DIZZY AND SHORT OF BREATH AND BLACKED OUT COMPLETELY. DX: SYCOPE AND COLLAPSE, DYSPNEA ON EXERTION, HISTORY OF VERTIGO.

Age 57 · Male · Lower Trunk · Other · 2020

57YOM PRESENTS TO ED W CO LOW BACK PAIN PT WAS THROWING HEAVY SEED BAGS YESTERDAY TONIGHT HE ATTEMPTED TO GOLF AND TOOK HIS FIRST SWING AND DEVELOPED PAIN DX: BACK PAIN, ABNORMAL LUMBAR X RAY

Age 79 · Male · Ankle · Fracture · 2020

79 YOM WAS MOVING A MANURE SPREADER AND FELL. DX: LEFT ANKLE AVULSION FRACTURE, LEFT FOOT SPRAIN.

Age 3 · Male · Upper Leg · Fracture · 2020

3 yom *** was riding in horse drawn fell out cart wheel ran over abdomen then manure spreader being pulled by cart ran over his leg, blunt trauma dx femur fracture

Age 78 · Male · Head · Internal Injury · 2019

78YOM WAS OUTSIDE IN HIS YARD SPREADING FERTILIZER WHEN HE FELL ONTO THE DRIVEWAY ONTO HIS HEAD DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY

Age 6 · Male · Shoulder · Fracture · 2019

6YOM PRESENTS WITH BLUNT TRAUMA TO FACE, HEAD, NECK AND CHEST AFTER HE GOT HURT BY THE WHEEL OF A HORSE-DRAWN MANURE SPREADER DX: SCAPULAR FRACTURE AND LUMBAR FRACTURE

Age 33 · Male · Eyeball · Contusions, Abr. · 2018

33YOM WITH RIGHT CORNEAL ABRASION AFTER SEEDING LAWN YESTERDAY.

Age 81 · Male · Face · Fracture · 2018

NASAL BONE FX, RIGHT PERI ORBITAL HEMATOMA. 81 YOM WAS PUSHING A FERTILIZER SPREADER WHEN HE TRIPPED AND FELL.

Age 58 · Male · Finger · Foreign Body · 2018

58YOM F'BDY FINGER, SPLINTER STUCK IN FINGER WHILE CLEANING MANURE SPREADER

Consumer Incident Reports

Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.

6/1/2022 · Incident, No Injury · Scotts Miracle Gro · Missouri

The consumer was preparing to use this new spreader with #2903 fertilizer and wanted the proper setting. He called the firm and their rep. (name unknown) told him that the product should not be used with a herbicide. The consumer told the rep. that their instructions indicated that it could be used with herbicides and advised him to check their site. The consumer used an older feeder to apply seed, weed, feed & ice, around his home over the years. The manufacturer’s instructions indicate that the older product and this new one could be used to spread all of those materials. The older feeder was named a Whirl, purchased approximately 3 – 5 years ago and made by this same manufacturer. He used this older one with a herbicide numerous times since he owned it The main difference, was the new one had batteries and the older one does not. Since there is a discrepancy with the product’s literature and what the firm’s rep. told him, he believes that the manufacturer is selling this product under false pretense and has been exposing the public to a possible health risk for years. He can provide the older feeder, but he returned the newer one back to the dealer, due to his safety concerns with the product.

Product Recalls

Search for active and past recalls related to seed and fertilizer spreaders on the CPSC website.

Compare beyond Lawn & Garden Equipment

Nationwide peers by danger score, ER volume & hospitalization

Three PlainSafety-derived comparison paths for Seed And Fertilizer Spreaders: cross-group products nearest on danger score (30/100), estimated annual ER visits (147/yr), and hospitalization share (11.1%). Same-group neighbours stay in Related Products above.

Read with this product

About this data

CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports form the basis of this page. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments.

According to PlainSafety's CPSC NEISS corpus ranking, Seed And Fertilizer Spreaders ranks #659 of 838 scored CPSC product categories by PlainSafety danger score and #729 of 838 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does seed and fertilizer spreaders rank on danger score versus ER volume?

Among 838 scored CPSC product categories, seed and fertilizer spreaders ranks #659 by PlainSafety danger score (30/100) and #729 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume (147/yr). The two rankings come from the same NEISS extract and are not the same order.

What are the most common injuries from seed and fertilizer spreaders?

The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 413 injuries over 20 years.

Are injuries from seed and fertilizer spreaders increasing or decreasing?

Down 17% over 5 years.

Who is most at risk for seed and fertilizer spreaders injuries?

The 55-64 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 865 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.

What happens when someone is injured by seed and fertilizer spreaders?

Of all ER visits involving seed and fertilizer spreaders, approximately 11.1% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (88.9%) are treated and released from the emergency department.

How can I report a safety problem with seed and fertilizer spreaders?

You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.

Data on Seed And Fertilizer Spreaders is compiled directly from CPSC NEISS and SaferProducts.gov records, current through 2024. See our methodology for details.

Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.

PlainSafety is rendered directly from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall and incident records, no number is typed in by an editor. Product recall timelines and hazard labels are drawn from CPSC recall records for this product. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.