Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The NCERA 197 committees goal are to develop and support action groups for each of the 12 agricultural safety and health priority areas identified in the National Land Grant Research and Extension Agenda for Agricultural Safety and Health, develop assessment tools to measure impact, and to create a supportive environment for exchange of ideas, partnering, and involvement of stakeholders. Each of the 12 priority areas is broad-based and multi-faceted. The decision was made to focus on one area and develop an action plan model that could then be used for the other priorities. The end product of this action plan model would be a White Paper on the topic to be shared and distributed to researchers and interested parties. The priority area selected was Operating Agricultural Equipment on Public Roads. An action plan template was developed, action steps were identified and deadlines established, and chair persons were identified. Short-term Outcomes: The safe operation of agricultural equipment on public roads is included in both new curriculums designed to meet training and certification requirements for the U.S. Department of Labors Agricultural Hazardous Occupations Orders (Ag HOs). These curriculums are the National Safety Tractor and Machinery Operation Program and the Gearing Up 4 Safety program. Both curriculums are appropriate for a much broader audience than the 14-15 year olds required by law to receive the training to be hired to operate tractors over 20 horsepower and powered machinery on non-family owned farms. Outputs: Purdue University produced a safety education CD titled Sharing the Road that addresses many of the specific concerns the committee has for operating agricultural equipment on public roads. The CD has been distributed to committee members and will be available to all NIFS Workshop participants. Activities: a)Two conference calls were held by committee members to report on and discuss progress on the white paper. b)A draft white paper was distributed prior to the annual meeting. This draft served as the primary focus for discussions at the annual meeting. c)Final plans were developed for presenting the draft white paper at the 2008 National Institute for Farm Safety (NIFS) professional Development Workshop. Additional input for the white paper will be collected during this workshop. Milestones: a)The National Institute for Farm Safety accepted our proposal to devote the professional development section of their 2008 annual conference to Operating Agricultural Equipment on Public Roads. This is the first time an outside group has been given the opportunity to manage the professional development section of the NIFS annual conference. b)The North Central Regional Association considers that NCERA 197 is a very effective NCERA committee, exhibiting good interaction and excellent ties to the DHHS and the national safety programs for agriculture and other areas. During their midterm review, they approved continuation of the NCERA 197 committee.