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Faces of UMASH: Meet Ana Contreras Smith!

Hello! My name is Ana Contreras Smith. I joined the UMASH team in July as the Dairy Safety Trainer for the Promoting Safety and Health for Immigrant Dairy Workers program. I have been working in agricultural industry mostly with dairy producers since graduating from the University of Minnesota. When I first started working in the industry I quickly …

A Centennial Celebration: Minnesota Farm Bureau

Megan Schossow and Maria Bertrand attended this year’s Minnesota Farm Bureau (MFB) Annual Meeting on Friday, November 22nd in Bloomington, Minnesota. The annual meeting involves MFB delegate voting, exhibitor displays, award ceremonies, panels with commissioners and policymakers, and other meetings and discussions. Megan and Maria participated in …

Minnesota Farmers Union Turns 78

The Minnesota Farmers Union State Convention was held the weekend of November 22 – 24, 2019 in Minneapolis. Megan Schossow and Carol Peterson exhibited at the event for UMASH and joined a number of other agriculturally focused organizations. Events such as this are an opportunity to talk one to one with farmers and their families in addition to …

SPOTLIGHT: A Commitment to Farmers

NOVEMBER 2019 UMASH is invested in helping farmers through these challenging times. We join many others in this effort to offer resources to assist farmers, families, workers and rural communities to manage the physical and mental impacts of the current farm economy. As part of our commitment to this cause, we often highlight relevant initiatives and …

Reframe, Refocus, Rebuild: MRASH

  Building resilience in agricultural communities starts with preparedness, planning and prevention. This year’s Midwest Rural Agricultural Safety and Health (MRASH) Conference, in Marshalltown, IA, framed emergencies and disasters through the theme, “Reframe, Refocus, Rebuild.” The Iowa Center for Agricultural Safety and Health the Great …

Fun on the Farm: Agritourism Workshop

Last week we hosted our sixth Agritourism Workshop in Andover, Minnesota. These workshops are co-hosted by the Minnesota Department of Health Zoonotic Diseases Unit staff, MDH Environmental Health staff, and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. These workshops have been funded by UMASH since 2015 and are provided free of charge for attendees. Topics …

SPOTLIGHT: Roadmap for delivering child care in agricultural communities

NOVEMBER 2019 Sharing is caring is a well used tag line for emails and social media to “get the word out ” on important topics. UMASH often shares relevant farm safety and health information to help make our agriculture producers in the Upper Midwest safer and less prone to injuries. Roadmap for delivering child care in agricultural communities …

Farm Safety Check: Grain Handling Safety

Grain handling is a high-hazard activity, where workers face serious injury and death. Youth should not be in grain bins or silos or in/around flat storage structures unless they are empty, proper lock-out/tag-out and other safety procedures are followed, and the youth is at least 16 years old. …

Trade Talk Success at the National Association of Farm Broadcaster’s Annual Convention

Scott Heiberger and Melissa Ploeckelman are no strangers to the agricultural media. In November, they headed to Kansas City to take part in the National Association of Farm Broadcaster’s Annual Convention. One of the main events at the annual conference is Trade Talk. During Trade Talk, Heiberger and Ploeckelman had an exhibit table to discuss our …

SPOTLIGHT: Bryan With Ag Injury News

NOVEMBER 2019 Agriculture still ranks one of the most dangerous occupations, but what does that really mean? Where are the injuries occurring? What are the type of injuries? Who is being injured – youth, adults, immigrants? How severe are the injuries? There are many factors to consider when looking at the whole picture of agricultural injuries. …