N.C. Agromedicine Institute, N.C. A&T Host Farm Health and Safety Symposium

Agricultural safety, equitable farming and navigating mental and physical stress were among the topics at an Agricultural Health and Safety Symposium held this month at the University Farm Pavilion.

The symposium was sponsored by the North Carolina Agromedicine Institute along with its partner universities, N.C. A&T, East Carolina University and N.C. State University.

“This type of conference fits our land-grant mission,” said Gregory Goins, Ph.D., associate dean for research in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. “It really demonstrates the benefit to the public and the return investment our stakeholders. A lot of what we do in this institute is not on the front page [of the news], but it is an essential piece for the success and safety of agriculture in North Carolina.”

The N.C. Agromedicine Institute, celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year, conducts and promotes research, intervention, outreach and education to improve the health and safety of the agricultural community, including farmers, farm workers, foresters, fishers, and their families.

“For more than 30 years, AgrAbility has helped empower those with disabilities to keep doing what they love and has already provided services to more than 13,600 individuals,” said keynote speaker Michelle Samuel-Foo, Ph.D., acting chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. “All of these programs are applicable to this group and can help you promote agricultural-safety outcomes.”

Key agency programs connected to the Institute include the IR-4 Project for pest management; the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program; the AgVets military outreach program; the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network; and the N.C. AgrAbility program for farmers and veterans with disabilities or ailments, led by N.C. A&T Cooperative Extension’s associate Crystal Cook-Marshall, Ph.D.

Crystal Cook-Marshall, Ph.D., gestures as she and Sydney Davis Richardson, Ph.D., an associate professor in the N.C. A&T College of Education, discuss farmer stress resulting from extreme weather at the symposium. Cook-Marshall is an N.C. A&T Cooperative Extension associate working with agromedicine and the AgrAbility program.

Cook-Marshall and Sydney Davis Richardson, Ph.D., an associate professor in the N.C. A&T College of Education, conduct research to help diverse and small-scale farmers with he stress and difficulties of extreme weather.

“Our aim is to have an impact through live trainings, and eventually through machine learning and mobile application, so that farmers dealing with extreme weather can turn to their phones and be offered a platform of sound, research-based solutions,” said Cook-Marshall.

In celebration of the institute’s anniversary, a panel discussed their history with the institute and its impact on North Carolina agriculture.

Interim Dean Shirley Hymon-Parker received an Excellence in Agromedicine Service Award at the symposium for her contributions to the institute as well as her career-long research and advocacy for agricultural safety.

“When you think back to what the issues were with ag workers between the 1980s and early 2000s, most of them had to deal with accidents with children, youth under age 18, and pesticide and chemical exposure” said interim dean Shirley Hymon-Parker, Ph.D., one of the panelists. “In addition to still trying to reduce those incidents, we’re now dealing with stress on our mental health. So much has happened with our farm workers: anxiety, depression, suicide. They’re concerned about their health, their financial situation, and just overall uncertainty. It’s extremely important that the medical component of the Institute is there for them.”

Hymon-Parker received an Excellence in Agromedicine Service Award for her contributions to the institute as well as her career-long research and advocacy for agricultural safety.

“It’s an honor to receive this and I thank you,” said Hymon-Parker.