We kick off the new Season 4 of the FarmSafe Podcast. Our Season 3 host, Libby Ritchie, returns to chat with Center Director Renee Anthony to talk about the new format for Season 4. In this September 2024 episode drop, we are highlighting episodes that correspond to social media promotion for the National Farm Safety & Health Week. The list of past episodes we are mapping to topics this year are listed below:

Monday, Sept 16:  Equipment & Rural Roadway Safety

• Season 1, Episode 9: Lighting and Marking
• Season 2, Episode 15: Safely Sharing the Road with Farm Vehicles
• Season 1, Episode 15: Farm Vehicle Crashes on Public Roads
• Season 3, Episode 3: Safe Operation and Maintenance of Tractors

Tuesday, Sept 17:  Health & Wellness

• Season 2, Episode 7: What’s Your Normal?
• Season 1, Episode 6: Sleep
• Season 1, Episode 19: Examining Support Systems for Farmers’ Mental Health
• Season 1, Episode 20: Job Demands and Health Outcomes for Beginning Farmers

Wednesday, Sept 18:  Generations of Farming

• Season 3, Episode 13: Exploring the Multi-generational Perspective on H&S with the Millennial Farmer
• Season 3, Episode 14: Support for Farmers’ Mental Health and Well-Being

Thursday, Sept 19:  Confined Spaces

• Season 1, Episode 21: Manure Gas Safety
• Season 1, Episode 22: Gas Monitors
• Season 3, Episode 5: Grain Bin Safety Part 1

Friday, Sept 20: Reporting Ag Injuries

• Season 1, Episode 7: Back Pain and Whole-Body Vibration
• Season 3, Episode 10: Poisons: Exposure Response
• Season 3, Episode 12: Community Building for Rural Response to Emergencies

In our last episode of this season, we spoke with Scott Heiberger, Communications Manager of the National Farm Medicine Center. He wrote about his and his wife's experience with Lyme disease in his 2019 Spotlight for the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (UMASH): "Tick-borne diseases on the rise, but often misdiagnosed, underreported."

Episode Resources
Lyme Disease Surveillance Data

Lyme Disease, Marshfield Clinic

Tick ID Business Card

Tick ID Card

Mandy Roome, PhD, is a researcher at the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety. Her current project is on tick-borne diseases on Vermont farms. She shares about the tick-borne diseases common to each region and how farmers can protect themselves, since avoiding outdoor work is not likely for a farmer.

Episode Resources
CDC, Check what the common ticks are in your state at https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/about/where-ticks-live.html

NIOSH, for general information on Tick-Borne Diseases: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/tick-borne/default.html

CDC, Tick Bite Data Tracker

Electricity is one of the “silent killers” in agriculture. There are many ways to come in contact with it, and without an understanding of common electrical hazards, farmers can get hurt. Libby speaks with Ann Augspurger from Safe Electricity on these hazards. We also hear from Cody and Bailey Conrady. They share the story of Cody’s electrocution and the surgeries and loss of limbs that followed.

Episode Resources
Safe Electricity Homepage

Electrical Hazards During and After a Storm: https://safeelectricity.org/public-education/videos-library/

The Cody Conrady Story

Infographic on Electrical Safety during Spring Planting

Did you know May is National Mental Health Awareness Month? We have a few voices on today's episode to discuss farmers' mental health. First, you'll hear from Kentucky farmer Quint Pottinger, owner of Affinity Farms. Then, Emily Krekelberg, Minnesota extension educator and dairy farmer, followed by Tammy Jacobs, Iowa State University Extension outreach and coordinator for the Iowa Concern hotline. In combination, this episode pulls together advice on how to support other farmers and what signs to look for if you or someone you love is struggling.

Episode Resources
Ag Worker Mental Health Training

RHIhub

Iowa Concern Hotline online or call 1-800-447-1985

Zach Johnson is the Minnesota Millennial Farmer. His YouTube account has over 1 million dedicated subscribers, and he is passionate about ag education — as are we! He has used his channel to promote organizations like Farm Rescue and Nationwide, who hosts Grain Bin Safety Week. He has shared videos on grain entrapment and rescue that lead to more shared stories in the comments below.

Episode Resources
https://farmrescue.org/

Constructing a farm succession plan

Millennial Farmer YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@MillennialFarmer

In this episode, we will explore the topic of emergency preparedness and response in the rural environment. Brian Feist, BSN, RN, and Emergency Preparedness Clinical Subject Matter Expert, and Dr. Richard Sidwell, trauma surgeon at Iowa Methodist, dive into community building and how it relates to preparedness and response efforts for rural emergencies. “One advantage that the small communities have is a depth of social capital. People want to help; people want to be involved with community. People have that community pride. Have social organizations be part of the disaster plan.”

Episode Resources
Stop the Bleed® Program

File for Life Folder

Smart 911

Farm Mapper

Alert Iowa

This episode focuses on emergency preparedness on the farm. We talked with extension educator and dairy farmer, Emily Krekelberg, about general tips that can help farmers plan for emergency situations. During the episode, we share information on the key pieces of information for your emergency action plan, including weather-related events, entrapments, or medical emergencies.

Episode Resources
Emergency Farm Plan Electronic Template, bulletin E-2575ET

Farm First Aid Graphic

Farm Emergency Plan: Tips and Guidance, Purdue University

USDA Livestock Preparedness Fact Sheet

Emergency Contacts
To Order a Farm First-Aid Kit: Gloria Reiter | email: [email protected] | phone: 563-556-5110, ext. 371

Matison Howard, graduate student focused in emergency preparedness: [email protected]

It is National Poison Prevention Week 2024. This year’s theme is “When the unexpected happens, Poison Help is here for you 24/7”. Tammy Noble from the Iowa Poison Control Center is back this week to answer more of our poison questions. Head to @GPCAH on Facebook or X/Twitter to like, comment, and share our #NPPW24 posts the rest of this week!

Episode Resources:
Recommendations: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention

Pesticide Poisoning Symptoms and First Aid, University of Missouri Extension

First Aid for Poisoning (8.5x11 handout)

First Aid for Poisoning (11x17 poster)

This episode is airing two weeks before National Poison Prevention Week (March 17-23rd). This is the first episode in a two-part conversation on poisoning exposure prevention, which is today’s episode, and poisoning exposure response on the 20th. Tammy Noble from the Iowa Poison Control Center will be guiding us through this topic. 

Episode Resources
Needle Stick Prevention on the Farm, UMASH: https://umash.umn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Needlestick-Farmworkers-FactSheet-2020.pdf
The main UMASH page also includes multiple posters, videos, and training: https://umash.umn.edu/needlestick-prevention/

Farm Safety Check: Manure Management, UMASH: https://umash.umn.edu/farm-safety-check-manure-management-checklist/ 

Farm Safety Assessment, Rural Mutual Insurance: https://www.ruralmutual.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Rural-Mutual-Farm-Safety-Assessment.pdf

Youth in Agriculture, Child Labor Laws, OSHA: https://www.osha.gov/etools/youth-agriculture/chemicals-pesticides