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SPOTLIGHT: UMASH Behind the Scenes

In the latest SPH Behind the Scenes, University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH) Interim Dean Tim Beebe interviewed Center Director Dr. Jeff Bender, Research Project Specialist Chela Vázquez, and Center Coordinator and Director of Outreach Megan Schossow. They share their stories and discuss their work and current topics in agricultural health and safety, like the impact of the changing climate, workforce, and agricultural industry. …

SPOTLIGHT: Promoting safety and health during avian influenza outbreaks

Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) continue to occur across the United States and globally, affecting millions of birds. UMASH has responded to the HPAI outbreak by developing a toolkit, serving as a resource, and collaborating with partners. This NIOSH blog post highlights efforts during the outbreak to communicate about HPAI, its risks to workers, and prevention strategies. …

SPOTLIGHT: Call 1-800-FARM-AID for support in English or Spanish

UMASH is a collaborative center of five leading research and healthcare institutions. One of our collaborators, Migrant Clinicians Network, recently highlighted the Spanish-language hotline they created with Farm Aid. All farmers, including Spanish-speaking farmers, can call 1-800-FARM-AID (1-800-327-6243) and receive support. …

Kicking Off 2023 Talking Farm Safety

With 2023 under way, the UMASH outreach team has been covering ground to continue to amplify health and safety in Upper Midwest agriculture. Looking for ag health and safety resources, speakers, or experts? Please reach out. …

SPOTLIGHT: Stay Safe with Sows – Protect Yourself from Injury

Common injuries include back and knee injuries, repetitive motion injuries, and hearing loss. These and other injuries can affect your bottom line. UMASH has a new video for protecting swine workers from becoming injured on the job. Farm Worker Sow Behavior Safety Tips offers practical recommendations to avoid serious injury. …

SPOTLIGHT: An Attitude of Gratitude – UMASH highlights from 2022

Each year, UMASH works to improve agricultural health and safety in the Upper Midwest through research, outreach, and community engagement. As we enter 2023, we look back at the 2022 with gratitude. This story shares our top emails, website pages, social media posts, and more, of the past year. …

Keeping an ear to the ground: UMASH publishes model on emerging issues

UMASH continually works to respond to emerging and re-emerging issues in agricultural safety and health throughout the Upper Midwest. To do this, UMASH developed a novel ‘process model’ for selecting emerging issues, creating and implementing a response, and evaluating impact. In a recent publication, this model is shared out, along with case studies and recommendations for its use. Partners in agricultural safety and health, as well as other disciplines, can see the model online. …

SPOTLIGHT: Looking Back on 2022: UMASH Annual Report

As 2022 comes to a close, UMASH presents our 2021- 2022 Annual Report. This report provides a yearly snapshot of the work accomplished for farmers, farm families, and workers. In this report, you will find a summary of our Center’s research, outreach, engagement, and evaluation activities. As UMASH moves forward to 2023 with our newly renewed center, we welcome your questions, comments, and insights into improving occupational health and safety for farmers in the Upper Midwest. …

Can you Imagine? MRASH conference address a safe and healthy future for agriculture

The 2022 Midwest Regional Agricultural Safety and Health Conference (MRASH) was held November 16 and 17 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The conference theme challenged participants to look to the future of food and agriculture and the various roles of those who work within the industry. Megan Schossow and Carol Peterson attended the conference on behalf of UMASH. …

SPOTLIGHT: Dress for Winter Success

There are many factors to consider when dressing for winter success. With a bit of information, dressing for winter work can help keep you warm and mobile. We'll help answer some questions...How many layers should I wear? Why do I sweat when working outside? Are gloves better than mittens? There are many factors to consider when dressing for winter success. Let’s look at some suggestions to keep you warm when actively working on the farm. …