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2020 UMASH Online Community Forums

2020 UMASH ONLINE COMMUNITY FORUMS

Aging on the Farm

Agriculture, as a profession, has more mostly “older workers” than any other profession or industry. In addition, the agricultural industry ranks as one of the most hazardous.

The average age of farmers is approaching 60. Many continue to live and work on the farm well beyond typical retirement age. There are many reasons farmers continue to work in farming for decades, including lifestyle choices, being their own boss, enjoyment of the land, and producing food.

With fewer farmers, we need to consider ways to support them as they age.  The aging process has implications for work safety including physiological changes such as loss of senses, muscle mass and slower response times. Older farmers are also more prone to injuries, which emphasizes the need for health and safety education and outreach for aging farmers.

Aging in place for farmers raises a number of challenges and opportunities.  To support our farmers, we need to raise the awareness of the impact of aging and ways to prevent injuries.


PARTNER PROJECTS

To build upon the ideas generated in the Aging on the Farm Community Forum, UMASH invited partnership proposals that would address forum themes and build partnerships in the region to respond to the needs. Four proposals were selected to partner with UMASH.


THE FORUMS

UMASH hosted a series of online community forums, each with a regional focus in the Upper Midwest.

The purpose of the forums is to engage community and health related organizations and community members who are in regional proximity to one another on the topic of aging in place for the agricultural workforce and their communities.  These forums considered the following questions: What can we do to support the health and safety of aging farmers, and farm families? What are the challenges? What are the opportunities?

The forums were hosted through Zoom video conferencing and included short presentations on aging, healthy living, and how health conditions and aging can impact safety on the farm. Online breakout discussions connected community members and professionals to discuss challenges, share resources, identify needs, gaps in resources, and generate ideas for potential collaboration.

OBJECTIVES

  • Increase awareness on aging in place and its accompanying health and safety implications
  • Identify regional needs to create educational/outreach materials
  • Collect community resources to support our farmers
  • Encourage community engagement

 

CEU credits provided by the Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety.

EVENT SUMMARY AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES:

VIDEOS AND PRESENTER BIOS:

Click the plus icon to open the box to access the videos, slides, and presenter bios for each forum.

WESTERN WISCONSIN AND EASTERN MINNESOTA - JUNE 15, 2020

Entire Forum

 

Challenges and Opportunities of Aging in Rural Communities

Joseph E. Gaugler, PhD

DOWNLOAD SLIDES

 

Aging Safely and Productively: What You Need to Know

Lisa F Schiller, PhD, APNP, RN, FNP-BC

DOWNLOAD SLIDES

Act Your Age: Resistance Training for Healthy Aging

Nicholas M. Beltz, PhD, ACSM-RCEP, CSCS

DOWNLOAD SLIDES

Farmer Perspective: Aging on the Farm

Randy Koller

Q&A

Presentations

Challenges and Opportunities of Aging in Rural Communities

Joseph E. Gaugler, PhD
Robert L. Kane Endowed Chair in Long-Term Care (LTC) and Aging & Professor
Director, SPH Center on Aging
Division of Health Policy and Management
University of Minnesota

My research examines the sources and effectiveness of long-term care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease and other chronic conditions. An applied gerontologist, my interests include Alzheimer’s disease and long-term care, the longitudinal ramifications of family care for persons with dementia and other chronic conditions, and the effectiveness of community-based and psychosocial services for older adults with dementia and their caregiving families. Underpinning these substantive areas, I also have interests in longitudinal and mixed methods.


Aging Safely and Productively: What you need to know

Lisa F Schiller, PhD, APNP, RN, FNP-BC
Associate Professor / Nurse Practitioner
Nursing Graduate Programs Director
College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Department of Nursing
University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

Lisa Schiller is an Associate Professor and Graduate Programs Director at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. She has been at the University since 2009. She is a Family Nurse Practitioner and has been practicing in rural Wisconsin for 23 years. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and has a certificate in Agricultural Health and Safety from the University of Iowa. Her area of research has been focused on agricultural health and safety, particularly with dairy workers in Wisconsin.


Act your Age: Resistance Training for Healthy Aging

Nicholas M. Beltz, PhD, ACSM-RCEP, CSCS
Assistant Professor
Director, Community Fitness Program
Department of Kinesiology
University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire

Dr. Beltz is currently in his 3rd year as a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology at UW-Eau Claire. He teaches Exercise Physiology, Exercise Physiology Laboratory Assessment, and Community Fitness Programming. Alongside his teaching responsibilities, he serves as the Director of the Exercise Physiology Laboratory and the Director of Community Fitness Program. His ongoing research involves the impact of resistance training on arterial compliance as well as investigating changes in dysmobility syndrome in community-based fitness programs.


Panel Moderator

Jeff Bender, DVM, MS, DACVPM
UMASH Director
Former Director, USAID One Health Workforce Project
Professor, Environmental Health Sciences
School of Public Health
University of Minnesota

Dr. Jeff Bender is a Professor in the School of Public Health and an adjunct professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine. He is the Director for the NIOSH funded Upper Midwest Agriculture Safety and Health Center (UMASH), a Center focused on improving the health of agriculture workers and their families. In addition, he is the Director for the USAID funded One Health Workforce Project, a workforce development program focused on preventing, detecting, and responding to emerging pandemic threats. His primary teaching and research interests include infection prevention, disease surveillance, emerging zoonotic diseases, occupational safety, food safety and antimicrobial resistance.

NORTH DAKOTA AND WESTERN MINNESOTA - JUNE 30, 2020

Entire Forum

 

Reasons for Continuing to Farm and Meeting Health Needs in Later Years

Florence Becot, PhD

DOWNLOAD SLIDES

 

Aging in Place: Challenges and Opportunities for Farmers

Jane Strommen, PhD

DOWNLOAD SLIDES

Aging and Agriculture: Health, Hazards, and Issues of North American Elderly Farmers

Carla Wilhite, ODT

DOWNLOAD SLIDES

Farmer Perspective: Aging on the Farm

Dan Younggren, Sugarbeet Farmer

Q&A

Presentations

Reasons for Continuing to Farm and Meeting Health Needs in Later Years

Florence BecotFlorence Becot, PhD
Rural Sociologist and Research Scientist
National Farm Medicine Center

Florence Becot is a rural sociologist who recently joined the National Farm Medicine Center in Marshfield, WI as an associate research scientist. Florence’s research is focused on the health, well-being, safety, and economic viability of farm families in the United States and France. Recent work includes farmers’ access to health care and health insurance and farmers’ mental health. Florence earned her PhD from the Ohio State University, her masters’ degree in community development and applied economics from the University of Vermont and was previously a researcher at the University of Vermont Center for Rural Studies.


Aging in Place: Challenges and Opportunities for Farmers

Jane Strommen

Jane Strommen, PhD
Gerontology Specialist
North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension

Jane Strommen, Gerontology Specialist with North Dakota State University Extension, has 30+ years of experience working with older adults and their family members in various settings including nursing home, assisted living, senior housing, and community-based care. In her current position, she is responsible for educational outreach in numerous areas, such as falls prevention, aging well, health promotion, and family caregiving. Jane received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from North Dakota State University, a Master’s in Health Services Administration from University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois, and a Ph.D. in Human Development – Gerontology, from North Dakota State University.


Aging and Agriculture: Health, Hazards, and Issues of North American Elderly Farmers

Carla Wilhite, ODT
Associate Professor
Occupational Therapy Graduate Program
University of New Mexico School of Medicine

Dr. Carla Wilhite is a licensed and registered occupational therapist, assistant professor at the University of New Mexico-Division of Occupational Therapy Graduate Program, and a state AgrAbility partner. She is experienced in assessing and evaluating the occupations of agricultural production and recommending resources, services, environmental modifications, adaptive strategies, and assistive technologies to promote safe participation by people with disabilities in farming and ranching activities. Carla has lectured and presented on many topics relating to AgrAbility including hand injuries, gait and ambulation issues on farm surfaces, occupational therapy farm assessment, and musculoskeletal issues as well as presenting on panels related to peer counseling, resource development, and increasing the competency of physical rehabilitation professionals in agricultural health and physical rehabilitation issues.


Dan Younggren
Fourth Generation Sugarbeet Farmer

Dan is a fourth-generation sugarbeet farmer who has successfully transitioned the farm to the fifth generation (his son and nephew). He served as the elected Vice President of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association in 2018. He is married to his wife Diane and has two children Kailey, 25 and Blair, 22.


Panel Moderator

Jeff Bender, DVM, MS, DACVPM
UMASH Director
Former Director, USAID One Health Workforce Project
Professor, Environmental Health Sciences
School of Public Health
University of Minnesota

Dr. Jeff Bender is a Professor in the School of Public Health and an adjunct professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine. He is the Director for the NIOSH funded Upper Midwest Agriculture Safety and Health Center (UMASH), a Center focused on improving the health of agriculture workers and their families. In addition, he is the Director for the USAID funded One Health Workforce Project, a workforce development program focused on preventing, detecting, and responding to emerging pandemic threats. His primary teaching and research interests include infection prevention, disease surveillance, emerging zoonotic diseases, occupational safety, food safety and antimicrobial resistance.

Request for Partnership Pre-Proposals

Following the forums, UMASH and the Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation (CHAI) will be seeking pre-proposal applications to fund partner projects that address aging issues in the Upper Midwest region.

Funding is available for selected projects ranging from $5,000 to a maximum of $10,000 to build partnerships for the UMASH Emerging Issues Program.

The Pre-Proposal Deadline Has Passed

VIEW RFP


SHARE YOUR TOP CONCERNS:

We want to hear from you!

Please take 5 seconds or 5 minutes to vote on your top health and safety concerns for aging farmers:


VIDEO: Aging on the Farm

 

DOWNLOADS:

“As we age, we need to be mindful of how we do physical work and support our agricultural workers and producers. This forum is a great way to bring community members together to identify the needs of farmers and support our rural communities.”

Jeff Bender, DVM
UMASH Director

CONTACT US:

Contact Megan Schossow if you would like to share resources on health, safety, or aging.

umash@umn.edu


The Community Forums are sponsored by the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (UMASH) and the Center on Aging in the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health.


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