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Media Contact: Selina Meiners, 202-734-9376
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2017 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA)
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced $836,494 in support
for farmer safety and health. Through education, this support aims to help
prevent fatalities and serious injuries associated with the farming profession,
and provide assistance to those in need.
NIFA awarded six new grants. Three of the projects are state
and regional AgrAbility initiatives, and the Youth Farm Safety Education and
Certification (YFSEC) Program funded the other three projects.
“The AgrAbility projects address specialized needs of
farmers with disabilities through direct agricultural assistance, education,
and networking,” said NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy. “The YFSEC projects
continue NIFA’s commitment to a coordinated approach to providing agricultural
safety and health education for rural youth.”
The AgrAbility
program supports partnerships between Cooperative Extension Services and nonprofit
disability organizations to educate about farm safety and provide assistive
technology solutions to agricultural workers with disabilities and their
families. The YFSEC Program supports
national efforts to deliver timely, pertinent, and appropriate farm safety
education to youth seeking employment or those already employed in agricultural
production.
Among the new AgrAbility grants, the Ohio AgrAbility Project
will provide farm safety education
to multiple agricultural and medical groups, conduct on-farm assessments, provide
farmers with disabilities with individualized recommendations about farm accessibility,
identify assistive technology providers, and link up farmers through supportive
peer networks. Among the new YFSEC program grants, the University of
Nebraska Medical Center will lead a project to build upon and strengthen the activities and accomplishments
of the Safety in Agriculture for Youth (SAY).
The following AgrAbility
grants totaled $536,494:
- The
Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, $180,000
- Pennsylvania
State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, $180,000
- University
of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, $176,494
The following YFSEC
grants totaled $300,000:
- Purdue
University, West Lafayette, Indiana, $100,000
- University
of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, $100,000
- The
Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, $100,000
Project details for the grants can be found at the NIFA website.
NIFA’s history of supporting AgrAbility projects includes a
grant to Penn State University to support the AgrAbility
in Pennsylvania project. Since 1995, this project has provided direct
services to over 750 agricultural producers in the state. The NIFA-funded YFSEC
program has supported development and implementation of Safety
in Agriculture for Youth since 2014. This multi-institution, multi-state
project enhanced accessibility to quality youth farm safety curricula. More
than 18,000 youth from 46 states, most under 18 years of age, have enrolled in
farm safety online training through SAY, and close to 9,000 youth have
completed the training to date.
NIFA’s AgrAbility program resulted in direct on-farm
assistance and education about prevention of secondary injuries to more than
11,900 farmers with disabilities since 1991. It has also provided indirect
services, such as referrals and farm safety education, to thousands more. Farmers
with disabilities who participated in the AgrAbility program report significantly
greater quality of life and independent living and working than do agricultural
workers with disabilities who have not received services from State or Regional
AgrAbility Projects. Greater quality of life and independent living increase
the likelihood that a farmer with disability and his or her family will stay
involved in production agriculture.
NIFA’s mission is to invest in and advance
agricultural research, education, and extension that solve societal challenges.
NIFA’s investments in transformative science directly support the long-term
prosperity and global preeminence of U.S. agriculture. To learn more about
NIFA’s impact on agricultural sciences, visit www.nifa.usda.gov/impacts, sign up for email updates or follow us on Twitter @USDA_NIFA, #NIFAImpacts.
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opportunity lender, provider, and employer.
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