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AGRI Livestock Investment Grant

mdalogoThe Minnesota Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for the AGRI Livestock Investment Grant Program.

Qualifying producers would be reimbursed ten percent of the first $500,000 of investment, with a minimum investment of $4,000. Qualifying expenditures include the purchase, construction, or improvement of buildings or facilities for the production of livestock, and the purchase of fencing as well as feeding and waste management equipment. Producers who suffered a loss due to a natural disaster or unintended consequence may also apply. The grant will not pay for livestock or land purchases or for the cost of debt refinancing.  Safety improvements would be an appropriate use of grant funding, as long as they are livestock related.

Application Deadline: December 16, 2016

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SPOTLIGHT: An Ode to Research Participants

I recently had the privilege to organize an event acknowledging the efforts of participants in our Hispanic worker training research project. We had asked farmers and workers to perform a year’s worth of activities that we think may increase the health and safety on their farms. We’re almost done collecting data, and the preliminary results are promising. …

UMASH at the 2016 National FFA Convention

More than 60,000 students, advisors, FFA alumni and exhibitors gathered in Indianapolis, IN, October 19-22, 2016 for the 89th National FFA Convention and Expo. Materials shared with students and advisors included good stockmanship video information, agritourism health and safety, needlestick safety and U.S. Ag Center Safety and Health video information. …

SPOTLIGHT: Seguridad – Translating Research to Practice

OCTOBER 2016 Have you ever changed your behavior because of a research study you came across on the radio or in a magazine? Perhaps you you started an exercise program to control weight to prevent diabetes. Research is translated into practice when scientific discoveries are pushed out into the real world for communities, individuals, and organizations …

UMASH featured in Voice of Agriculture

UMASH is one of several organizations featured in “Keep Safe, Keep Farming”, a special farm safety section in the September 2016 Minnesota Farm Bureau’s monthly newsletter.  UMASH’s dairy stockmanship training resources featured in the article promote positive animal care which is important for both animal and worker safety. …

UMASH at the Great Minnesota Get Together

UMASH was one of many studies in the University of Minnesota’s Driven to Discover Research Building activities during the 12 days of the 2016 Minnesota State Fair. Being at the Fair gave UMASH access to a large pool of volunteer participants for their study “Agritourism: the Next Frontier in Agriculture.” The goal of the study is to understand …

UMASH at Dakotafest 2016 Farm Show

Westward Ho!  To farm and ranch country we went to attend the annual Dakotafest farm show in Mitchell, South Dakota.  Carol Peterson and Ruth Rasmussen joined colleagues from the Iowa based Agricultural Safety and Health Center (Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health) for three days of networking with farmers, ranchers, reporters and agribusiness …

SPOTLIGHT: The Evolution of the Healthy Fairs Project – The Power of Relationships

SEPTEMBER 2016 Natalie Loots UMASH Evaluation Team Research Assistant, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Minnesota School of Public Health Relationships can often be the true measure of a project’s success. The Minnesota Department of Health’s Healthy Fairs pilot project has certainly experienced success in this way. Healthy …

UMASH at EPICOH 2016

Buenas Dias, UMASH! It was a good several days in Barcelona, Spain, September 4-8 when Bruce Alexander, Jeff Bender, and Amy Liebman presented at the 25th EPICOH Conference – “Occupational Health, Think Globally, Act Locally”. EPICOH is organized by the Epidemiology Committee of ICOH and covers major topics of current epidemiologic …

UMASH at 2016 Farm Progress Show

UMASH was well represented at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, August 30-September 1, 2016. We were part of a large contingent of Health and Safety groups working together in a large tent sponsored by the Iowa Department of Public Health. Grain bin rescue demonstrations throughout the day brought visitors to the tent. Diane Kampa and Ruth Rasmussen …