Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Short-term outcomes:

Increased awareness of stakeholders concerning ATV hazards and current intervention developments for engineering controls, training and public policy.

Provided outreach on the impact of the National Research Agenda on development of scholarly products in agricultural safety and health.

Making Northeast, Midwest and Western regions a safer place to live and work, through increased knowledge and capacity for ag safety and health education. Has also built capacity of the Northeast Ag Safety and Health Coalition, the NIOSH Ag Centers and the Canadian Ag Safety Associations.

The positive reputation of the Agricultural Safety and Health Program continues to result in a demand for services that exceeds capacity within current funding limitations. This multi-state project also provides a means for coordinated efforts and grant collaborations across North America.

Outputs:

ATV White Paper finalized with input from multiple authors. Presentations given at national conferences of ASABE and ISASH. Manuscripts in submission to Journal of Agromedicine and Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health (JASH).

Additional manuscripts and editorials published by Committee members in Journal of Agromedicine, JASH, SAFETY, and NACAA of scholarly products relevant to the national research agenda and promotion of injury prevention practices.

NCERA Committee members provide service to the discipline of safety and health through leadership on editorial boards and providing technical reviews of manuscripts for journal publication.

NCERA Committee members serve as technical reviewers to update industry safety standards for ANSI / ASABE / ISO.

Extension education was offered throughout North America, and particularly in the Northeast, Midwest and Western regions through traditional workshops as well as virtual meetings and webinars during the COVID pandemic. New and revised Extension factsheets were published by Committee members in their respective states.

Several of our Ag Safety and Health professionals received career achievement recognition from international organizations of ISASH, ASABE, and ASHCA.

Websites and Social Media provide easy access to available resources within our Committee members’ states and member organizations.

Signed proclamation for farm safety by the governor.

Summary of 2019 incidents involving agricultural confined spaces was completed and disseminated nationally to the farm media. Contents were made available at www.agconfinedspaces.org. Over 20 interviews were conducted on the findings, including articles in Progressive Farmer and Farm Journal reading several hundred thousand families.

While some institutions maintain dedicated faculty lines for supporting partial or full appointments to the agricultural safety position, the Committee recognizes the need for administrative support to bolster the infrastructure of these positions. Occupational safety and health initiatives for agricultural workers continues to be a need within North America. Programs are needed to support academic teaching, outreach education, and applied research.

Activities:

NCERA Committee members conducted safety and health programs and demonstrations for farm populations within their states (in-person training and virtual meetings), published newsletters and popular reports, maintained websites and had a social media presence.

NCERA Committee members presented at professional conferences connecting with other educators, engineers, industry liaisons, government officials to enhance cross-discipline collaboration for agricultural safety and health issues.

Milestones:

Publications of the ATV white paper in multiple outlets.

The estimated partial extraction forces for a tall extreme obesity male victim to a short underweight male victim were predicted because of the increased understanding of the original extraction force prediction model and newly obtained data for surface areas. This advancement is expected to help improve understanding of the extraction force prediction model and provide new possibilities of exploring options for rescue.

Increased participation in the Northeast Ag Safety and Health Coalition to include representatives from nine states.

Cheng, Y.H., Field, W.E., Tormoehlen, R. L. “2015 Indiana Farm Fatality Summary with Historical Overview and Assessment of Impact of Farm Injuries”. Accepted 2019.

Ehlers, S.G., Field, W.E. Accessing and Operating Agricultural Machinery: Advancements in Assistive Technology for Users with Impaired Mobility. Journal of Assistive Technology, Vol. 31(5). Arlington, VA, 2019.

Field, W. E., Tormoehlen, R., Ehlers, S. Cheng, C., Talbert, A., Deboy, G., Haberlin, D., & Schwab, C. V. (2019). ROPS are not homemade. J. Agric. Saf. Health. 25(3), 129-131. https://doi.org/10.13031/jash.13392

Gorucu, S., Weichelt, B., & Pate, M. L. (2019). Fatal agricultural injuries in Pennsylvania, 2015-2017: A comparative analysis of two systems’ data collection methods and datasets. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 25(2): 53-61. doi: 10.13031/jash.13165

Jepsen, S.D., Walls, K. (2020). Re-designing Tractor and Machinery Safety Curriculum for Women in Agriculture and Young Agricultural Workers. Journal of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents, Vol 13(1). Retrieved from: https://nacaa.com/journal/index.php?jid=428

Jepsen, S.D., Barret, E.E. (2019). Preparing Agritourism and Direct Marketing Operations for Emergencies. Journal of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents, Vol 12(1). Retrieved from: https://nacaa.com/journal

Mann, A.J., Jepsen, S.D. (2019). Hazardous agricultural tasks completed by youth as part of their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE): A Descriptive Study. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 25(3),107-116.

McNamara, J., P. Giffin, J. Phelan, W.E. Field, and J. Kinsella. Farm Health and Safety Adoption through Engineering and Behavioral Change. Agronomy Research. 17(5), 1953-1959, 2019.

Pate, M. L., & Gorucu, S. (2020). Agricultural work-related fatalities to non-working youth: Implications for intervention development. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 26(1): 31-43. doi: 10.13031/jash.13691

Pate, M. L., Lawver, R. G., Smalley, S. W., Perry, D. K., Stallones, L., & Shultz, A. (2019). Agricultural safety education: Formative assessment of a curriculum integration strategy. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 25(2): 63-76. doi: 10.13031/jash.13113

Schwab, C. V., Schwab, L. E., & Schwab, P. J. (2019). Extraction force prediction for male entrapment victims with different body types submerged below the grain surface. J. Agric. Saf. Health. 25(2), 77-90. https://doi.org/10.13031/jash.13155

Schwab, C. V., Arbuckle, J. G., & Hanna, H. M. (2019). Barriers and motivators for tractor ROPS retrofitting in Iowa. J. Agric. Saf. Health. 25(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.13031/jash.13039

Schwab, C. V., Schwab, L. E., & Schwab, P. J. (2020). Estimates of human surface area for a partially entrapped grain victim and associated extraction force loads. ASABE Paper No. 2001410. St. Joseph, MI: ASABE.

Schwab, C. V. (July, 2019). Safety sharing the road with farm vehicles. (Iowa State University Extension publication No. AE3540). Ames, IA: Iowa State University, Extension and Outreach.

Swoboda, R. (2019, September 19). Save a Life – Use a Tractor with a Rollover Protection Structure. Wallaces Farmer.

Tormoehlen, S.A. and W.E. Field. Summary of Farm Fatalities Involving Individuals 55 Years and Older – 1988-2017. Journal of Safety, 2019, 5(2).

Tormoehlen, S.A, Field, W.E., Ehlers, S.G., and Ferraro, K.F. Indiana Farm Occasional Wood Cutter Fatalities Involving Individuals 55 Years and Older. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health. Accepted 2019.