Free safety workshop to focus on youth working in agriculture

by | Aug 29, 2022 | 5 Ag Stories, News

Protect the future of agriculture by attending a virtual safety and health workshop devoted to safeguarding youth who work on farms and ranches, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (CDT), Sept. 28.

The workshop is being hosted by AgriSafe Network, the National Children?s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety and the Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health. The workshop is free but registration is required. Attendance will be limited to the first 50 registrants. Go to http://www.marshfieldresearch.org/cash-workshop.

Safety on farms and ranches is an ongoing challenge. ?Since 2009, more youth have died working in agriculture than all other industries combined,? said Marsha Salzwedel, Ed.D., project scientist at the National Children?s Center. ?We can reduce the number of deaths to working youth by assessing their abilities to ensure they can perform the work safely. This workshop will teach participants how to do that.?

Leading experts will utilize hands-on activities and small-group discussions in discussing benefits and risks to youth working in agriculture, illness and injury prevention strategies, youth mental health, and parent/supervisor information and training.

Participants can to apply the new knowledge in designing safety strategies for their farms and organizations. The workshop is ideal for farm parents, supervisors, agribusiness, farm organizations, insurance professionals, bankers and lenders, healthcare providers, Extension, FFA advisors, public health officials and media.

Facilitators will include Knesha Rose-Davison, M.P.H. (AgriSafe); Marsha Salzwedel, Ed.D. (National Children?s Center); and Diane Rohlman, Ph.D. (Great Plains Center).

The National Children?s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety is celebrating 25 years of preventing injuries associated with the agricultural worksite, one of the nation?s most hazardous worksites and the only one where children of any age may be present.

The National Children?s Center is a program of the National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute. It is one of 11 agricultural health and safety centers funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).