JANUARY 2022
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others. -African Proverb
One of the first UMASH research projects was the Multidisciplinary Network to Address Agriculture Worker Health and Safety Issues. This project brought together a diverse group of people from many backgrounds to address health and safety on the farm. This well-established network has become an important way to exchange ideas and share expertise to solve problems with greater creativity, resourcefulness, and speed.
By connecting with livestock producers, the project worked to improve livestock worker and immigrant worker health and safety. To understand the economic impact of work-related injuries, this project used agricultural worker compensation data. Future collaborators for this initiative could include farm owners, agribusiness, health care, agricultural banking, insurance companies, government, and academia.
The project generated a variety of educational materials and tools for workers, like posters, fact sheets, and bi-lingual videos (English and Spanish). These resources covered topics like dairy stockmanship or low stress animal handling, and needlestick prevention. Additionally, the project created an inventory of farm safety and health curricula for colleges that serve the next generation of farmers and workers. A forum was held to review educational programs in the five-state region, bringing together representatives from AgriSafe Network, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and the Southern Minnesota Center of Agriculture.
The Multidisciplinary Network Project provided timely and relevant safety and health information by working with various partners in the agricultural sector.
The cross connections, networking, and relationships offered a reason and framework for future collaboration to promote farm safety and health…