Partners for Health & Safety in Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries

NORTH CAROLINA AGROMEDICINE INSTITUTE  |  APRIL 1, 2024

NCSU Associate Dean and the NC Agromedicine Institute's Board of Directors Chair, Dr. Steve Lommel, recognizes NCA&T CAES Interim Dean, Dr. Shirley Hymon-Parker, for her many years of service as an Institute Member and Board of Directors member (Image courtesy of NCA&T CAES Communications).

"We cannot work inside a silo." A phrase used frequently by the NC Agromedicine Institute Director, Dr. Robin Tutor Marcom. This phrase emphasizes collaborative work as an essential strategy to address agricultural health and safety issues in the 21st century. On March 20, the NC Agricultural Health & Safety Symposium celebrated more than 25 years of collaboration in agromedicine research and service among partnering universities, community supporters, healthcare providers, and agricultural stakeholders. The Symposium was held at the NC Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA&T) in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) University Farm Pavilion. The Symposium was co-hosted by the NC Agromedicine Institute Campus Coordinators, including Dr. Alyssa Spence at East Carolina University (ECU), Dr. Catherine LePrevost at NC State University (NCSU), and Dr. Crystal Cook-Marshall at NCA&T.

The University of North Carolina Board of Governors formally established the NC Agromedicine Institute ('the Institute') in 1999, linking three public universities through its organizational structure. These universities include ECU, NCA&T, and NCSU. The Symposium showcased the results of this consortium. Throughout the day, research reports, special presentations, and award recognitions painted the picture of how working in partnership has promoted the wellbeing of farmers, farmworkers, foresters, fishermen, and other agricultural populations in NC and beyond. 

Invited speakers included, Patrick Jones, NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services-Structural Pesticide Control and Pesticides Division Director , Shawn Harding, NC Farm Bureau President, Dr. Cheryl Witt,  farmer, Extension Specialist Senior, Ag Nurse University of Kentucky Martin-Gratton College of Agriculture. The agenda also included a keynote address from Dr. Michelle Samuel-Foo, United States Department of Agriculture - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) Acting Chief of Staff.

The morning agenda included campus updates and research highlights from the partner universities. Research highlights provided valuable insights into topics such as hazardous occupational exposures and best farm practices for physical safety and mental health. ECU researcher, Dr. Sinan Sousan presented findings on dust exposure in swine confinement buildings. NCA&T researcher, Dr. Robert Cobb Jr., provided insight to beneficial and safe farming practices for veterans and limited resource farmers. Finally, NCSU researchers, Drs. Andrew Smolski and Michael Schulman discussed aspects of race and navigating farm stress.  Smolski and Schulman were also recognized as the newest and original Institute Members respectively. These presentations set a strong foundation for the rest of the day's discussions.

The afternoon agenda included research posters, special presentations, and awards. Research posters were submitted by practitioner and student researchers.  The poster session was followed by lunch and a special presentation by Julia Storm, retired NCSU Agromedicine Extension Specialist, showcasing the Institute's chronology as a visual history. Storm then moderated a panel discussion to round out the historical perspective andlook toward emerging issues. The panel was made up of foundational Institute staff and partners, including Drs. Ed Jones (retired NCSU), Greg Cope (NCSU), Shirley Hymon-Parker (NCA&T), and Annette Greer (ECU). 

USDA-NIFA Acting Chief of Staff, Dr. Michelle Samuel-Foo provides keynote address highlighting USDA-funded programs and services (Image courtesy of NCA&T CAES Communications).

ECU Public Health & Agromedicine Researcher, Dr. Sinan Sousan, engages with symposium discussion after presenting his work on dust exposure and swine production facilities (Image courtesy of NCA&T CAES Communications).

Farmer, Extension Specialist Senior, Ag Nurse, Dr. Cheryl Witt, discusses the importance of research to address farmer health issues in the field. 

Panel speaker, Dr. Ed Jones, speaks passionately about the Institute's rich history and commitment to serving the health and safety needs of the agricultural community. 

Above, students, Institute staff, and affiliated healthcare providers discuss current research projects. (Left) ECU student, Shane Smith, examined farmer veteran quality of life. (Middle) FRSAN-NC Resource Specialist, McKayla Robinette (middle), examined suicide prevention training in agricultural communities.  (Right) Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Dr. Roberta Bellamy examined H-2A farmworker access to healthcare. 

(Left) Panelists, Interim NCA&T CAES Dean, Dr. Shirley Hymon-Parker, and former NCSU Agromedicine Campus Coordinator, Dr. Greg Cope, share their perspectives on using research and Extension to overcome industry challenges (Image courtesy of NCA&T CAES Communications). (Right) Julia Storm shares the chronology of the Institute as a prelude to the panel discussion. 

Institute Board of Directors Chair, Dr. Steve Lommel, presents Rooted in Agriculture Community Champion Award to NC Farm Bureau President, Shawn Harding. 

The day's special awards included the Institute's Board of Directors recognizing excellence in agromedicine research and service. NC Grange and NC Farm Bureau were recognized as emerging and long-standing community partners, providing funding, expertise, and other resources to the Institute's mission. Dr. Michael Schulman was recognized for excellence in agromedicine research. Drs. Tom Irons (retired Institute Medical Director-ECU), Greg Cope, and Shirley Hymon-Parker were also recognized for decades of service to promote agromedicine in NC. 

NC Farm Bureau President, Shawn Harding, closed the symposium with a call to action.  Harding affirmed the importance of the Institute's work to NC farmers, farmworkers, and their families. He expressed NC Farm Bureau's commitment to promoting the Institute's mission and encouraged others to join in. He challenged attendees to use their abilities as researchers, healthcare providers, educators, citizens and agricultural stakeholders to protect agriculture's greatest asset, the people working in the agricultural field. 

Are you interested in learning more about how you can prevent suicides? We offer free Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) training to those who live, work, or serve in agriculture!

QPR will be offered virtually this spring on:

• April 24, 9-10:30 am
• May 22, 9-10:30 am

Questions? Email: robinettem23@ecu.edu.

Join the NC Assistive Technologies (AT) Program for an AT Pop Up event during the months of March, April or May.  For registration and information, please click here: NCATPop-Ups2024

In 2015, the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) adopted partial provisions of the OSHA respiratory protection standard. By federal and state laws, all agricultural businesses using a pesticide that requires the use of a respirator in the label must comply with this regulation.

This course will provide the information required to comply with the WPS respiratory protection. This course is interactive and uses audiovisual materials to demonstrate and explain the technical information required for administering a respiratory protection program in agricultural production companies. 

Upon successful completion, this Respiratory Protection course will issue a certificate of completion by the University of Florida. The University of Florida/IFAS Extension will mail the certificate of completion to you. The course consists of nine modules, each module has a graded quiz, and student must complete all modules and score at least 70% on each graded quiz to earn a WPS Respiratory Protection Certificate of Completion. We welcome you to enjoy this audio visual and interactive course designed to teach you how to comply with the WPS Respiratory Protection requirements. 

This course was designed by Cesar Asuaje, Regional Specialized Extension Agent, UF/IFAS, and Ricardo Davalos, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The technical review was conducted by Robin Tutor Marcom from the North Carolina Agomedicine Institute.  Dan Sweigert, E-learning Developer and Consulting. For questions about the course, contact Cesar Asuaje at crasuaje@ufl.edu.

https://ifas-farmlabor.catalog.instructure.com/courses/wps-respiratory-protection-with-certificate-of-completion

Cost of course is $40.00

Information to share? Please let us know about opportunities that may be of interest to the NC Agromedicine Institute and our community of partners by email.