There are more older workers in agriculture than in any other industry, with the average age approaching 60. Without adequate support, the impacts of aging can make the hazardous environment of agricultural work even more dangerous. …

COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way that we work on the farm: food production systems have been greatly taxed, and as with all essential work, agricultural workers have higher COVID-19 risk. …

Agriculture is an occupation and a way of life for farmers and their family members who live and work on the farm. It is also an industry with high rates of injury and illness. Outreach to farmers, workers, and farm families is an important tool for education and injury/illness prevention. However, it can be challenging and costly given wide geographic distribution, technology and broadband limitations in rural areas, and potential lack of awareness about strategies and available resources for improving health and safety. …

Stress, depression, and suicide are on the mind of agricultural communities, where economic, social, and environmental forces challenge the health and safety of farmers, agricultural workers and their families. …

The Farm Safety Check was launched in January 2017 to provide farmers with a simple tool to identify and fix potential hazards before they cause harm to family or employees. …

Telling the Story Project features real-life experiences and personal accounts of families and individuals directly affected by injuries and close calls. The purpose of the project is to raise awareness about safety, risk, and injury prevention. …

The “Rural Firefighters Delivering Agricultural Safety and Health,” or RF-DASH, project is training and equipping firefighters/EMS with tools and knowledge to perform brief farm safety consultations. …

Immigrant workers make up nearly half of the dairy labor force and dairies employing immigrants produce 79% of the US milk supply. However, most workers receive no safety training. Producers and immigrant workers successfully tested a model program to address on-the-farm safety needs from hazard reduction to worker training. It developed a train-the-trainer curriculum that was later adopted by OSHA as an approved curriculum and utilizes Community Health Workers. …

Many people are not familiar with the risks associated with visiting a working farm. Agritourism events, including school field trips, petting zoos, county fairs and similar venues, are an increasingly popular way for people to experience agriculture. UMASH and the Minnesota Department of Health have collaborated to offer Healthy Fairs and Agritourism workshops and other resources. …

A major source of anxiety for the cow or the pig is people. Stressed cattle and pigs are more difficult to handle and this puts workers at an increased risk of accidents. UMASH collaborated with dairy scientists at the University of Minnesota to produce educational materials related to stockmanship or low stress handling. …