Feedstuffs in Focus

NIOSH cuts stand to put agricultural worker safety at risk

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The safety nets protecting America's agricultural workforce are unraveling. Dr. Jeff Bender, Director of the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (UMASH), reveals the far-reaching consequences of recent budget cuts to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) - cuts that have already eliminated 85% of the agency's workforce.

For fourteen years, UMASH has served as a vital resource for farmers, agricultural workers, and rural communities across the Upper Midwest, and beyond. Under the recent cuts to NIOSH, the center's funding is set to expire in September. 

Using a "One Health" approach and recognizing the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, the center has pioneered innovative solutions to complex problems. From training rural volunteer firefighters to handle farm emergencies to researching better respiratory protection in swine and dairy facilities, UMASH projects, past and present, address real-world challenges that commercial interests typically overlook.

For more information on UMASH, visit: https://umash.umn.edu/about-the-center/

Sarah Muirhead:

For more than 50 years, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has been a vital partner, safeguarding the well-being of millions of workers across the country. Recent cutbacks in the agency's personnel and budget, however, have sparked concern For agriculture. Those cuts are extending to the Upper Midwest Agriculture Safety and Health Center. Welcome to Feedstuffs in Focus, our podcast taking a look at the big issues affecting the livestock, poultry, grain and animal feed industries. I'm your host, sarah Muirhead.

Sarah Muirhead:

This episode of Feedstuffs in Focus is sponsored by United Animal Health, a leader in animal health and nutrition. You can learn more about United Animal Health and how they're working to advance animal science worldwide by visiting their website at unitedanhcom. Joining us today to talk about the recent cutbacks and what they will likely mean to the University of Minnesota's Upper Midwest Agriculture Safety and Health Center and its mission to improve the health and safety of agricultural producers, workers and their families is Dr Jeff Bender, UMASH Director. Let's start with a bit of history on UMASH. How did the center come to be and what role does it play for the agricultural community?

Dr. Jeff Bender:

UMASH stands for the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center, and that is funded from the federal government, from the National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health, or NIOSH, which people often confuse with OSHA, and we're not the regulatory arm. It's basically an arm that focuses on worker safety and, specifically, there are 12 centers across the country to really represent how do we work with agricultural communities, agricultural workers, producers and farm families to try to keep them healthy and safe and, as you know, labor is a big issue, so the last thing we want to do is lose people. So, yeah, so we're really in the business of trying to keep people safe that are working in agricultural safety and health, and that started back in 2011. So we've been around for about 14 some years.

Sarah Muirhead:

So it sounds like there's 12 centers. So they're set up by geography then, because there's going to maybe be some different issues for different areas. Is that correct?

Dr. Jeff Bender:

That's correct. And so, as you can imagine, people maybe in New England, maybe it's focused on fishing, and how do we protect people that are in the fishing industry? Or, if it's in Florida, it might be growers for strawberries or for other commodities, or if it's in California it might be very different. Or here in the Midwest it might be, you know, soybean, corn production, swine, turkeys, dairy production, so yeah, so we wanted to make sure at least NIOSH wanted to make sure they wanted to give the money to the regions, to actually then be kind of, in a sense, listening sessions to what are the community needs and then how do you deal with practical, applied issues to tackle some of these regional challenges, especially for these rural communities?

Sarah Muirhead:

Of course, some of the challenges also go across across the nation, right, so is there? Is there sharing that takes place when those topics are relevant to producers everywhere?

Dr. Jeff Bender:

Yeah, and actually that's one of the values of this you know 12 center network is that you know we can share resources and support one another. So, for example, there's one center in Wisconsin that focus on rural children and just children issues on farms and how do we keep kids safe on farms? I mean, you know there's a lot of value in having you know kids do the work on farms, but how do we do that safely? So there's an example of a center that does that. One of the big how do we actually work safely with machinery is really important. As you know, here in Minnesota we've actually lost a number of folks to ATV injuries, especially on rural highways, and so that's an example of how we can transcend a cross center.

Sarah Muirhead:

ATVs, pto shafts, all those things I remember growing up. Of course, I had a three-wheel ATV back then.

Dr. Jeff Bender:

Even more of a safety issue.

Sarah Muirhead:

So now UMASH focuses research, education and prevention projects, as you mentioned. What are kind of the top projects that UMASH is involved in and that UMASH is probably most proud of?

Dr. Jeff Bender:

Yeah, you know, as you mentioned, there's a number of kind of research projects. So these are nice research projects, the ones that we can start and actually engage over a period of time. Some of those deal with very practical issues and some of them are actually more focused on research. So, for example, understanding viruses and movement of viruses in swine environments or the poultry barn or the dairy parlor I mean understanding and how do we kind of prevent some of that work? Other issues that have really emerged as important has been the mental health issues, especially in our rural communities, and so how do we actually provide better services, come alongside, understand what some of the barriers are and then really be able to work in those rural communities? A good example, I think, of a small project that actually just blossomed.

Dr. Jeff Bender:

One of the things that we did early on when we formed UMass is we asked well, who are the trusted people in rural communities and you know how can? These are going to be your, your people that are going to be your spokespersons and trusted individuals that you would go to. And one of the ones that actually surprised me was and I didn't really think about is the role of the rural firefighter, the volunteer firefighter within rural communities. One, they are often members of the community and then also they have the training. But one of the things that they don't have is they don't have really training in how to deal with farm issues, about injuries you know that can happen and understanding that farm, and then also how they can actually engage with producers to think about prevention. How do I deal with chemical issues, or you know, electrical issues, or you know what if there is a tractor roll, or how do I get the person out of there safely, or if I have a grain bin injury, how do we do that?

Dr. Jeff Bender:

So one of the things that started as a small seed project was how do we train or how do we engage rural firefighters? Well, that actually has now spread and it spread down in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Now it's spread across the nation and now into Canada that we're doing this. So you know that's an example of basically a small community-based project, listening to the community, equipping the community to then be able to support, you know, farmers and rural communities with that. So that's a good example of, probably, you know, one of the projects that we have and we've got others that are like that that really have been, you know, kind of community-based listening to what some of the needs are and then being able to develop programs to actually support that.

Sarah Muirhead:

Now, one of the guiding principles of UMASH is that of the one health approach. Walk us through the importance of being able to address issues from that perspective of human health, animal and plant health, as well as the health of the environment. How do you pull all that together when you approach projects?

Dr. Jeff Bender:

That is one of our founding principles and one of our kind of our mission and it really involves the way that we try to tackle some of these issues. When we look at UMass, we're collectively, you know, really represent a number of different disciplines and it's important, especially when you deal with complex issues, to really bring together bright minds from other places to deal with that. So in our executive group we've got individuals from the Minnesota Department of Health, from the National Farm Medicine Center in Marshall, wisconsin, from Michael Clinicians Network especially we deal with labor issues as well as a number of schools and colleges within the university pulling them together to really deal with it. So veterinary medicine, our agricultural folks, our extension folks, our medicine folks, the School of Public Health, pulling those all together. And I think you know I just last week we were just working with the National Pork Board and this One Health concept really just kind of continues to blossom and emerge when we think about how do we deal with some of the issues that farmers may have or are dealing with and thinking about the different disciplines that need to address that.

Dr. Jeff Bender:

So one of the areas was animal handling how do you work around 300-pound sows and not get hurt, and so bringing in animal health specialists who can really think about animal welfare. What's the best way to treat that animal. The worker to make sure that that worker, you know, doesn't lose a knee in the process. And then also the industrial engineering people to think about what's the best design for how do we move pigs and move pigs safely, what's the best design for how do we move pigs and move pigs safely. And then also thinking about the safety of those animals, with the ultimate goal is that hopefully we're going to have a healthy, good quality food product that consumer can enjoy. So that's a good example of where all those components of the animal-human-environment interface is really important.

Sarah Muirhead:

As I mentioned in the opening, there's some funding issues that have come up suddenly and unexpectedly in terms of cuts. Any initial thoughts on what the implications of those might be for UMASH as well as for the agricultural community in general?

Dr. Jeff Bender:

I'm all fine for trying to create efficiencies and look at these things, and I think oftentimes when people think of NIOSH they do think of OSHA. Oh, you guys got to be the regulators and we're not. We don't regulate at all. We're basically trying to work alongside industry and other folks to kind of deal with issues that they may have as a result, kind of you know, issues that they may have. As a result, niosh has been dramatically cut. I mean, 85% of their workforce is gone as a result of that.

Dr. Jeff Bender:

The people that actually kind of oversee what we do. You know we have to send our annual reports and saying this is the progress we're making, this is how we're who we're engaging, this is what we said we would do, and those people are gone. So we really don't have anybody that's holding us accountable to say are you doing? Are you doing a good job? Nor are the people there that say, ok, we did this and now next year we're going to do this, are there to sign off on the check, to say, ok, go ahead, you can do the next year. So, yeah, our funding actually is going to end in September. Is is what we anticipate and with that, you know, we have research projects that have been going on for a couple of years, that are just starting to get in their stride, that are not going to be able to continue. So that's a very sad thing because I think many of these research projects are, in my opinion and I'm biased are really amazing and just are doing some great work, and I think that they really will support the industry and support producers and workers in that regard. The other thing is we won't have money to do the community-based project. So a lot of times we try to come alongside local communities and say, hey, how do we support aging farmers in your community? Or how do we actually support mental health resources for, you know, women, you know in agriculture? So those are examples of some of the funded projects that we've done that unfortunately we won't be able to to do.

Dr. Jeff Bender:

We also try to provide kind of some seed funding for researchers that are trying to come up with new innovative ideas. Or how do we make better filters? How do we make better masks? One of the big issues, one of the things that we were tasked to do was to look at with all the discussion about H5N1 influenza, is how do we protect those workers who are being exposed and the initial regulations are really cumbersome. Can you imagine wearing a big N95 in a milking parlor? And it's hot and sweaty, and so is that the best way we can protect the worker. So part of the question that we were going to ask is what's the best way to protect that worker so they can do the work and not pass out type of thing. So those are some of the things that we're going to lose in this process. So, again, we anticipate that the funding cycle, from all indications, will end in September for us.

Sarah Muirhead:

Well, a lot of times those aren't. The research that you're doing is not something that a commercial interest is going to go and dive into and do that work. This is more a general, overall kind of research that is needed, but it's not, like I said, something that's going to be taken for commercial development, so that probably it needs to be done. Who's going to do it?

Dr. Jeff Bender:

You know, sarah, you really bring up a good point, because one of the things that, especially with smaller producers you know they don't have a lot of money to have an HR department or to actually think about, you know, having a safety manager, I mean like big companies do. And so, you know, in a sense, with our smaller producers, we're trying to provide tools for them so that they can think about some of these things. Okay, hey, this is the spring checklist. Before I start the tractor up, these are some things I need to do, or this is a reminder, you know, during harvest season. This is, you know, some things.

Dr. Jeff Bender:

Oftentimes these health and safety things are in the back of the. You know the mind they're kind of we don't worry about it until it happens, unfortunately. So we want to prevent that. We want to prevent those things from happening, but for a very busy person, sometimes we don't think about that and then we go oh my gosh, I forgot. You know I didn't put the, I didn't do a lockout tag out on that. Boy oh boy. You know I we never trained that worker on how to use that equipment and you know, sure enough, they got their hand trapped, and so those are things that often get forgotten and especially for the smaller producer, they don't think about those things. Nor that kind of research, those kind of outreach activities is not going to be funded, oftentimes by industry.

Sarah Muirhead:

So what I know, it's probably too early to say, but what's next for UMASH? Is there a future? You mentioned funding might be going away in September. Is there a scaled downASH? Is there a future? You mentioned funding might be going away in September. Is there a scaled down future? Is there any future? Do you have any sense of that at this point? Are you still doing that evaluation?

Dr. Jeff Bender:

Largely our funding is through NIOSH and so the real dramatic impact is going to be in our research project. So you know we fund a number of researchers who are doing work, air quality and mental health, on rural firefighters, on protecting swine workers in barns. Those projects are going to have to end, unfortunately, and the funding that we have to support any community-based project or small grants, those are going to disappear. You know the outreach activities that we do, unfortunately, you know those are going to disappear. You know the outreach activities that we do, unfortunately, you know those individuals that really support that are going to be probably let go and so really ideally, I think you know here in Minnesota we know that we want to keep that rural workforce healthy and safe and so will others be able to pick that up. Or, you know, will we look a little bit differently or it's going to be really scaled back, to be honest with you.

Sarah Muirhead:

So then, what's the future of NIOSH?

Dr. Jeff Bender:

You know that's a good question, sarah. From the looks of it, at this point, all the training centers have been eliminated, all the labs have been eliminated. So, really, niosh really doesn't exist anymore. All the training centers have been eliminated, all the labs have been eliminated. So, really, niosh really doesn't exist anymore. I know that there's discussion about it being incorporated as a new version, but we don't really have any details At this point. It's been virtually eliminated.

Sarah Muirhead:

So if someone, any of our listeners here, might have a concern and they want to express that somehow, what would you say is the best way to go about that?

Dr. Jeff Bender:

One is to talk with their industry folks. So you know, maybe they're turkey producers or poultry producers, or maybe they're the dairy producers, or you know corn and soybean producers, you know. One is to talk about well, how is our organization going to deal with health and safety issues? How are we going to do that? How can we support this kind of work and effort? So I think that that's part of it. The other part is actually engaging legislators.

Dr. Jeff Bender:

One of the things that we do is that we do try to meet with our legislators and usually as listening sessions try to kind of what are your constituents telling you? What are the issues? Now we've heard from our legislative folks many years ago that, hey, we need to do more mental health work and outreach. What, jeff, what are you doing in those communities? And so you know, as a result of that, we did engage and try to do some of that outreach and engagement, engagement. So I think, again, part of it is to engage those legislators and say who's going to be doing kind of health and safety, education, outreach and training? If we don't have this kind of mechanism in place? How can we support that? Umash has been great because they've been helping engage and actually being responsive to the needs of our communities. To the needs of our communities.

Sarah Muirhead:

Our thanks to Dr Jeff Bender, director of the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center. This episode of Feedstuffs in Focus has been sponsored by United Animal Health, a leader in animal health and nutrition. You can learn more about United Animal Health and how they're working to advance animal science worldwide by visiting their website at unitedanhcom. I'm Sarah Muirhead and you've been listening to Feedstuffs In Focus. If you would like to hear more conversations about some of the big issues affecting the livestock, poultry, grain and animal feed industries, subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast channel. Until next time, have a great day and thank you for listening.