NOVEMBER 2023
Autumn is a significant season in agriculture, and UMASH had an active month connecting with colleagues and FFA students and making new connections.
Fraternizing at FFA
UMASH & National Farm Medicine Center’s (NFMC) Scott Heiberger and Melissa Ploeckelman traveled to the 2023 National FFA Convention. Thousands of attendees, both students and advisors, get a front row seat to agricultural safety and health when they visit the NFMC booth, where farm safety jeopardy initiates conversations and resource sharing around farm safety.
Making a splash at MRASH
UMASH staff and researchers also gathered in Dubuque, Iowa, November 8-9, 2023, for the Midwest Rural Agricultural Safety and Health Conference (MRASH).
UMASH Coordinator Megan Schossow presented a research poster at MRASH.
UMASH’s work was presented to conference attendees, including a Telling the Story Project workshop and a poster on the Promoting Safety and Worker Health for Immigrant Dairy Workers research project.
The National Farm Medicine Center was part of the MRASH conference with Dr. Florence Becot and her research project, which focuses on understanding the impact of individual and environmental influences on farmers and how likely they are to seek mental health support. Also attending was Jakob Hanschu from the Rural Firefighter Delivering Ag Health and Safety project, which has expanded internationally.
Brief from the Board
Our work is guided by the input of the UMASH Advisory Board, who represent many facets of Upper Midwest agriculture. On November 16, 2023, Advisory Board Members from South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota gathered virtually to revisit UMASH’s activities over the past year, and discuss a variety of ongoing and emerging farm safety issues and priorities. The board members took this time to share the issues that keep them up at night and how UMASH can continue its work to promote agricultural health and safety to keep farm workers and families safe, and help us all sleep a little better!
On the road again
UMASH & National Farm Medicine Center’s (NFMC) Scott Heiberger and Melissa Ploeckelman attended the annual National Association of Farm Broadcasters conference in Kansas City, Missouri on November 15-17. This conference results in dozens of interviews, highlighting new resources and important information from the agricultural health and safety experts.