• How Mediation Can Help Farmers

    Summary: Farming is a livelihood and a tradition for many families. It has its rewards, but also its unique risks and pressures. Those may stem from the markets, the weather, financial arrangements, family, neighbors, government regulations and more. Conflicts that arise when farming and its support systems fail to mesh add to the stress. How farmersRead More

  • Sleepless in America

    Summary: The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention now identifies sleep deficiency as a public health problem.  Sleep affects every moment of our daily lives, from how we think and remember to how our bodies thrive or deteriorate. It determines how we deal with stress, make choices related to safety, and function as humanRead More

  • Mental Health in Farm and Ranch Country: How Communities Can Help!

    Summary: In rural communities, the stigma associated with mental distress is hard to confront. Rural agricultural residents pride themselves as hard-working and dedicated to the land. These characteristics are sometimes in direct conflict with asking for help and self-care, leaving those around them at a loss for words and action. This presentation attempts to use theRead More

  • The Impact of Climate-Related Hazards on Mental Health

    Summary: Extreme weather and climate events can lead to negative human health outcomes. Although the initial outcomes from these natural hazards are typically obvious, the long lasting impacts can be more difficult to identify because of the diversity of potential health burdens during the recovery phase. Mental health outcomes are one of the more complex relationshipsRead More

  • Mental Health Innovations in Agricultural Communities

    Summary: This session is a panel presentation that communicates a forward vision addressing disparities in agricultural mental health. The presenters will explore the development of a farmer specific hotline, the efforts of a state department of agriculture, and suggested strategies to address a central objective-to meet the mental health needs of ALL agricultural producers and their families.Read More

  • Farm Theater: A Unique Approach to Health and Safety

    Summary: Farm Dinner Theater is an award winning intervention that is changing the actions of farm families for their health and safety. Based on a four year NIOSH research project, Dr. Reed will walk the audience through the development, history, evaluation and evolution of the Farm Dinner Theater. Since the research project ended communities have usedRead More

  • Reducing the Risk of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and Perinatal Illness for Female Agricultural Producers

    Pregnancy and fertility are often not considered when women assume farm tasks. Pesticide and other chemical exposures, zoonotic diseases and heavy lifting particularly during childbearing years, present challenges. At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to: Identify unique exposures/risks associated with farm tasks. Identify at least four reproductive health and safety issuesRead More

  • Talking to Farmers About Pain

    The occupational hazards that farmers face put them at greater risk for acute and chronic pain as a result of ergonomic repetition, accident, or surgical procedure. Addressing specific occupational sources of pain and what activities the pain inhibits are crucial to improving treatment. This module will focus on how to transform the conversation between providerRead More

  • Safety Sensitivity of Opioid Use in High Hazardous Industries Such as Agriculture

    The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine released recommendations for opioid prescribing based on safety-sensitive occupations. Safety-sensitive work is typically classified as operating motor vehicles, modes of transportation, other heavy machinery, or tasks requiring high levels of cognitive function or judgment. Farm duties frequently demand the use of heavy machinery, and concurrent use ofRead More

  • What to Expect While Expecting- For Female Producers & Farmworkers in Ag

    Summary: Pregnancy and fertility are often not considered when women assume farm tasks. Pesticide and other chemical exposures, zoonotic diseases and heavy lifting particularly during childbearing years, present challenges. Objectives: At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to: - Identify unique exposures/risks associated with farm tasks. - Identify at least four reproductiveRead More

  • Addressing Military Needs in Agriculture

    Summary: Veterans have a long history of service to our country through military service and through agriculture. The 2017 USDA report added a new special category of producers: “Producers with Military Service”. This report identified that 370,019 men and women agriculture producers claimed the title of US veteran, with 294,974 of them having spent more thanRead More

  • Zoonotic Disease and Pregnancy: A Deeper Dive

    Summary: Zoonotic Diseases are transmitted between farm animals and humans and can pose additional risks to those who are pregnant. According to the World Health Organization, more than half of all human pathogens are zoonotic and have represented nearly all emerging pathogens during the past decade. Farmers and farm workers have higher levels of risk forRead More