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SPOTLIGHT: Ag Educators Keep our Future Farmers Safe

MAY 2020 The current pandemic has required agricultural educators to be more creative than ever. To assist with teaching about agricultural safety and health during the age of online learning, we’ve created lesson plans, resources, and tips on a variety of agricultural safety and health topics at www.umash.umn.edu/AgEd. 2020 FFA Infographic This infographic …

SPOTLIGHT: Protecting our Agriculture Workers is “Essential”

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical importance of those who produce our food. Deemed “essential” workers, these individuals continue to milk our cows, process our meat, plant our crops and harvest of our food. They do this while many of us have switched to a virtual, online world from the classroom to the office. And in many cases their work continues as usual but at great risk. …

SPOTLIGHT: Safe Digging Tips, Myths, & Facts

811 is the national number designated by the Federal Communications Commission to help protect homeowners and professional excavators from unintentionally hitting underground utility lines while working on digging projects – large and small. …

SPOTLIGHT: Training Dairy Workers on Health and Safety

 APRIL 2020 Chela Vázquez Coordinator and Trainer vazquezc@umn.edu It’s been two years since I joined UMASH doing trainings on health and safety in Spanish for dairy workers in Minnesota. My job entails going to dairy farms, meeting workers and engaging them in discussion about potential injuries on the farm and ways to prevent it. I have learned …

SPOTLIGHT: Stop Think Act: Safety in 3 Words

 APRIL 2020 Our neighbors to the North in Canada, Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS), with Imperial Oil, have developed a simple, but effective reminder to practice safety and health on the farm. It is only three words but says it all when preventing injuries or other tragedies from occurring. Stop Think Act is just one tool to encourage …

SPOTLIGHT: Respirator Q & A Toolkit

Farmers and agricultural workers need respiratory protection for many jobs on the farm – such as working around grain, hogs, hay, or solid pesticides. …

SPOTLIGHT: Living, working on farms increases risk of gastrointestinal illness

MARCH 2020 New study reveals greater levels of infection in people working with livestock Minnesotans who live or work on a farm with livestock and poultry are 8 times more likely to be diagnosed with a gastrointestinal illness than other Minnesotans, according to recently published findings from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Upper …

SPOTLIGHT: Standing up to Save Lives

OSHA and the National Grain and Feed Association (NFGA) are increasing efforts to ensure that people stay safe when working around grain bins. Headed by OSHA, NFGA, and other key organizations, this year’s Grain Safety Stand-Up campaign is held the week of April 13-20. …

SPOTLIGHT: AgriSafe Learning Lab – Learn Your Way

MARCH 2020 Ashley Fey, MPH Program Manager – AgriSafe Network AgriSafe has led distance education innovation in agricultural safety and health for the past 10 years. In partnership with experts from across the country, AgriSafe has accessible and quality content on topics covering a variety of exposures common in agricultural work. AgriSafe launched …