Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal for a new Center of Excellence in Agricultural Disease and Injury Research, Education, and Prevention, the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (UMASH) builds formal collaborations among five prominent institutions; The University of Minnesota School of Public Health, University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, the National Farm Medicine Center of the Marshfield Clinic, the Minnesota Department of Health, and the University of Wisconsin. These institutions bring unique and complimentary resources to address existing and emerging occupational health and safety issues in agriculture. UMASH will initially focus on health and safety issues related to animal agriculture production. A central theme for the application for a new Center will be the interrelationship between the production practices, which are primarily driven by social, economic and animal health considerations, and the health and safety conditions in the workplace. The overall goals of the Center are to: 1. Establish an agriculture health and safety Center of excellence to build capacity and leverage the expertise of the institutions involved. 2. Develop holistic programs to improve the recognition and control of safety and health hazards in agriculture production that create a health and economic burden to workers and producers. 3. Improve management of agriculture worker health in the event of adverse exposures or injuries. 4. Develop a better understanding of the relationship between worker health, animal health and production 5. Improve communication between stakeholders in agriculture, public health, and health care to address existing and emerging issues in occupational health and safety in agriculture PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Agriculture work can be hazardous. As agriculture evolves to meet increasing global food demand, the occupational health risks encountered by the agricultural work force will evolve with some hazards being eliminated and others emerging. Understanding these changes is essential to protecting the health of agriculture workers and their families.