Practicing good housekeeping and organization in a feedyard mechanic shop can not only help save time but may significantly improve overall shop safety. Identifying feedyard safety principles is one of the aims of Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH). This University of Nebraska Medical Center group (www.unmc.edu/publichealth/feedyard/) is … [Read more...]
Safety and health for youth in agriculture
By Emily Krekelberg U of M Extension Educator, Farm Safety and Health The farm is a great place to raise kids, but it’s also dangerous. About one-third of all farm accidents involve children. Prevent your child from becoming a statistic: make sure they understand on-farm hazards, only give them age-appropriate tasks, and make sure they are supervised. Many of the everyday … [Read more...]
3 Cricketeers: An emerging form of urban agriculture
National FFA Officer Candidate Add in the butter, scramble the eggs, pour in the sugar, don’t forget to add the cricket flour, and of course the — wait…crickets? In BROWNIES? Whether the idea of crickets in your brownies excites you or sends tingles down your spine, it’s a real food. Crickets likely aren’t the first thing we think of when we talk about agriculture, but … [Read more...]
Thank a farmer
By Connor Wingert Most of us sit at the dinner table with family or go out to our favorite restaurant and enjoy having fresh foods like steak, burgers, or maybe vegetables. Or maybe you like fresh fruits like grapes, apples, or other types of fruit, maybe you favor some frozen foods like pizza. But how many of us actually know where these foods come from? It doesn’t matter if … [Read more...]
A career worth celebrating today and every day
By Maddie Smith National FFA Officer Candidate September 17, 2020: National Teach Ag Day. It’s a day to recognize and celebrate our educators who work hard in the classroom. It’s a day to encourage potential teachers to take the next step towards a career in teaching. It’s an effort to recruit and retain diverse and quality ag teachers who strengthen our youth, industry, and … [Read more...]
The ratio for career success through higher education
By Maddie Smith National FFA Officer Candidate Think about your senior year of high school. As graduation approaches, what is the one thing most people talk about? Aside from senior pranks and graduation parties, most high school students are probably worrying about what’s next. For me, it hasn’t been too long since I was a high school senior. Two of the biggest things I … [Read more...]
The community impact of agricultural education
By Maddie Smith National FFA Officer Candidate When we talk about education, we usually think about the students and teachers, but what about the community? How do we make classroom content applicable to the “real world”? What does it take to promote a town’s economy and culture? Can certain classes make a difference? Yes — certain classes can make a difference! … [Read more...]
Interseeding cover crops, grazing and 60” corn online field event September 10
FOUNTAIN, MN — Interseeding cover crops, grazing and planting corn in 60” rows will be the exciting topics covered during a Land Stewardship Project (LSP) Zoom event Thursday, September 10, from 10-11:30 a.m. Join the event 10 minutes prior to 10 a.m. for music and social time. All Zoom experience levels are welcome and guidance to using the platform will be given in the first … [Read more...]
The food supply chain: getting food from farm to fork
By Maddie Smith National FFA Officer Candidate Milk is expensive yet farmers are dumping it... How does this happen!? When we think about essential workers during the pandemic, we most often think about healthcare workers and grocery store workers. Looking at our grocery stores, however, there are plenty more heroes to add to that list. When we grab food off of the … [Read more...]
A conversation about rural mental health in youth
By Maddie Smith National FFA Officer Candidate ATV training, grain bin safety, rural resilience… These were a few topics discussed during the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (UMASH) virtual expo last week. One topic was more frequently discussed than any other, however: mental health. Stress levels on the farm are higher than ever. Those of us … [Read more...]