NCERA 197: Agricultural Safety and Health Research and Extension

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing continue to have a work-related death rate that is eight times higher than the all-industry average (National Safety Council, 2009). Production agriculture accounted for more than 75% of the work-related deaths within the agriculture, forestry, and fishing category in 2007 (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009). Injuries and fatalities continue among children, youths, and seniors—age groups that are generally not part of other industries.

A committee called the North Central Education/Extension Research Activity (NCERA) 197 was founded in 2000 to develop strategies to use the land-grant system’s research and extension capacity and the experience of agricultural producers to reduce work-related injuries, illness, and death. The NCERA 197 committee created the National Land-Grant Research and Extension Agenda for Agricultural Safety and Health: National Agenda for Action, a document that prioritized 12 areas with 115 individual topics relating to agricultural safety and health in which research or extension gaps exist (Committee on Agricultural Safety and Health Research and Extension, 2003). The National Agenda for Action was the first agricultural safety and health agenda by the land-grant system since 1943, and it has been used by the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing (AgFF) Sector Council of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a resource document for its National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) plans and by the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA). The Canadian government has also used this document as the foundation for its agricultural safety strategic plan.

The following publications were created by the NCERA 197 Committee based on their National Agenda.

Agricultural All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) Safety is a topic that covers several of the priorities of the NCERA 197 committee. The following whitepaper is a summary of current research, engineering and education related to ATV safety in agriculture.

Click here to be linked to the white paper titled Agricultural All-Terrain  Vehicle Safety (2020).

The another priority area for the NCERA 197 committee is agricultural confined spaces.

Click here to be linked to the Research and Extension Agenda for Agricultural Confined Spaces.

The NCERA 197 committee will investigate gaps in extension  and research regarding engineering, educational, and legislative controls designed to reduce the frequency and severity of incidents involving confined spaces in agricultural workplaces. The NCERA 197 committee plans to complete the following activities:

1. Summarize the research literature, engineering needs, and outreach opportunities related to agricultural confined space hazards;
2. Convene a national conference on this topic;
3. Encourage additional research and outreach by land-grant universities to reduce hazards of agricultural confined space; and
4. Encourage increased standards activity by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) to reduce hazards of agricultural confined spaces.

The NCERA 197 committee was reappointed in 2005—when it was renamed from NCR 197 to NCERA 197—and again in 2011. After the completion of the national agenda, the committee focused efforts on the development of a white paper concerning agricultural equipment on public roads. This effort was designed to do the following:

1. Identify research, policy, and extension and outreach priorities for these agencies:

• federal departments of Agriculture and Transportation;
• NIOSH;
• state departments of agriculture, transportation, and law enforcement;
• county governments; and
• organizations related to production agriculture.

2. Identify possible design and practice standards, goals, or guidelines for farm equipment manufacturers, standard-setting organizations, and government agencies (Committee on Agricultural Safety and Health Research and Extension, 2009).

Click here to be linked to the NCERA 197 committee’s white paper titled Agricultural Equipment on Public Roads.

The NCERA 197 committee will identify additional topics on the basis of the National Land-Grant Research and Extension Agenda for Agricultural Safety and Health: National Agenda for Action document. The committee members will partner with land-grant universities to increase infrastructure support for agricultural safety and health at land-grant universities.

Ag Safety and Health eXtension Community of Practice

The NCERA 197 committee was instrumental in developing the Ag Safety and Health eXtension Community of Practice (CoP). The Ag Safety and Health CoP is designed to provide agricultural safety and health information in a user-friendly format to agricultural producers through peer-reviewed article summaries, frequently asked questions, and “Ask Extension” opportunities.

Resources

Click here to be directed to a summary of the National Land-Grant Research and Extension Agenda for Agricultural Safety and Health: National Agenda for Action.

Click here to open the NCERA197 Impact Summary (2010-2015),

NCERA 197: Agricultural safety and health research and extension. (2021) Ag Safety and Health eXtension Community of Practice. Retrieved from https://ag-safety.extension.org/ncera-197-agricultural-safety-and-health-research-and-extension/.

Sources

Agricultural equipment on public roads. (2009) North Central Education/Extension Research Activity Committee (NCERA) 197, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. Retrieved from http://nasdonline.org/static_content/documents/2065/d001906.pdf.

Census of fatal occupational injuries (CFOI) – Current and revised data, 2007 census of fatal occupational injuries (revised data). (2009) U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm.

Injury facts. (2009 edition) National Safety Council (NSC). Itasca, IL.

National land grant research and extension agenda for agricultural safety and health. (2014) NCR-197 Committee on Agricultural Safety and Health Research and Extension. Retrieved from http://extension.psu.edu/business/ag-safety/youth-safety/national-safe-t….