Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Safety Practices Featured in New Nationwide Video Project

The best agricultural safety practices are described and demonstrated in a new series of free educational videos produced by U.S. Agricultural Safety and Health Centers across the country, including one based at Colorado State University.

The videos are available on a YouTube channel launched Nov. 1 at www.youtube.com/USagCenters.

Topics include: respiratory protection, livestock safety, tractor and machinery safety, child development, emergency response, grain safety, pesticide safety, heat-illness prevention, ladder safety, and hearing protection.

New videos will be added weekly, with 60 educational videos expected on the site by year’s end. Content will address how to stay safe while working in agriculture, forestry, and fishing.

The video project is a joint effort of 10 U.S. Agricultural Safety and Health Centers funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Among these is the High Plains Intermountain Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, based at CSU, with many staff members in the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences.

“The new YouTube channel is a way to reach millions of people with safety and health information,” said project administrator Allison DeVries, of the High Plains Intermountain Center for Agricultural Health and Safety.

Virtually anyone working hands-on in agriculture, forestry, and fishing – or with training responsibilities in these industries – will benefit from the educational videos, said project leader Amanda Wickman, of the Southwest Center for Agricultural Health, Injury Prevention and Education in Texas. The videos may be accessed with mobile devices, which allows use in field settings.

“The U.S. Agricultural Safety and Health Centers were established to protect more than 5.5 million full- and part-time contract and seasonal workers in agriculture, forestry, and fishing, as well as farm family members,” Wickman said. “Many centers have created videos for this purpose, and this project will enhance dissemination to people who can benefit most from them.”

Each video on the new YouTube channel has been produced and reviewed by experts on the occupational hazards in agricultural, forestry, and fishing.

For more information visit the YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/USagCenters, or contact Allison DeVries, project administrator, at allison.devries@colostate.edu.

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