Building Confidence in Safety and Wellbeing with an On-Farm Workshop

Farm workers and farm owners alike gathered at Squashington Farm in Mt. Horeb, WI for a workshop on Ergonomics, Safety, and Wellbeing in late April. This event was hosted by the Midwest Vegetable Growers Network (MVEG) in collaboration with FairShare CSA Coalition, UW Madison-Extension, & the Farm Labor Dashboard, all in support of giving farmers more tools to improve wellbeing on the farm.

Body care and health look different for every person and operation; there is no one “right” way to approach it – so, a dozen organizers worked together to create this supportive space for farmer attendees to connect with the pieces that they needed the most, have access to experts to answer their questions, and get all the information and resources they need to start the growing season strong. Attendees started and ended the day together as a group to reflect and share, spending the rest of the day moving as they pleased through three education stations, each touching on different components of “wellbeing” on the farm, from first aid kits to self-massage.

Dick Straub is Emeritus Professor and Senior Associate Dean of College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at University of Wisconsin-Madison. He led one of the stations representing AgrAbility Wisconsin, a partnership between UW Madison-Extension and Easterseals Wisconsin. Dick discussed and demonstrated several special tools and modifications for work equipment. AgrAbility works with clients to find adaptive tools that people can use who have disabilities; this could be from an accident or injury, but the majority of AgrAbility clients receive support due to “degenerative types of things that occur through life,” as Dick shared. AgrAbility is committed to helping folks find the adjustments necessary to keep farming – no matter what challenges they are facing. Several attendees indicated they would implement tool changes in their own work to better protect their bodies, based on examples shared in this session.

Aaron Yoder, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Department of Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health. Aaron served as facilitator for the group discussions at the beginning and end of the day. His educational station went over sun/heat exposure, first aid kits, tick prevention and identification, along with personal protective equipment – gloves, protective clothing, hats, eye protection, and hearing protection. Participants not only received practical guidance in all these areas, but also learned about advances in products available like vibration-protective gloves, wearable tools for measuring sun exposure, and Bluetooth headphones rated for hearing protection. Sharing their favorite PPE and solutions that work for them, the group crowd-sourced ideas for meeting their needs. Aaron also shared ideas about how farm owners and employees can work together to encourage safe work cultures on their farms.

Ellen Petrick and Laura Fredrickson-Gosewisch are co-leaders of University of Vermont’s Farm Labor Dashboard Virtual 3-Day Retreats for Women Farmers. Their station got folks up and moving with a warm-up routine, stretching, movement strategies for lifting, kneeling, and more. They went over a variety of ways to support the body during and after a day of hard work, along with managing the mental and physical stress of farming. Ellen has spent over 25 years working as an exercise physiologist, health coach, and fitness educator, and has a master’s degree in Exercise. On her farmstead in Argyle, Wisconsin she raises dwarf goats and other animals, including reptiles! Laura has been a market vegetable grower since 2016 and has spent the past 13 years in practice as a clinical massage therapist. Ellen and Laura’s unique combination of health expertise and experience farming allows them to offer realistic strategies and practices for keeping farm bodies feeling good. One of those strategies is to “lift with your butt!”

Levi Miller of MAD Capital drove all the way from South Dakota and partnered with Pasture and Plenty, a local-sourcing cafe and market in Madison, WI, to provide everyone with an amazing lunch spread. He believes in the importance of topics like this being offered to farmers and, in his words, “wanted to be a little more in person and show up. There is something important about being present for these kinds of things, especially in states that are so supportive of organic, regenerative ag; it’s just good to be involved.” Thanks to their generosity, this group experienced a crucial component to supporting our hard-working bodies: a long break with good food and community.

Over lunch, people took time to connect and talk with each other about their own challenges and successes incorporating wellness on the farm. Robyn Calvey of Park Ridge Organics in Fond du Lac, WI, attended the event with a member of her team so they could collaborate on bringing what they learned back to their operation. Robyn is a farm owner that makes it a point to support her farm’s well-being. She has offered yoga on the farm, and recently provided a free massage with a local massage therapist to each employee. Robyn came because “thoughts about my own self-care can only go so far; to actually implement them I knew I needed a little kick. You go from nothing to everything in veggie farming so fast – it helps to have a reminder at this time of year to remember and implement this stuff so that the season can be safer and better.” She went on to say that she was pleasantly surprised at how many simple tips and tricks she picked up. “It’s the time of year where we’re just doing things, and it hurts. Turning wrenches and shaving off parts of your knuckles, you recognize that planning ahead, being prepared for the task, having a first aid kit on the tractor for when I do shave the skin off my knuckles – it’s little things that make a difference.”

Some farm teams attended sessions together, while others split up then convened with their team between sessions to share what they picked up. Wonka’s Harvest in Hollandale, WI, sent their crew to the event on a day they would normally be working on the farm and paid them for the day! The team enjoyed the opportunity to spend time as a team and learn together, collecting their own perspectives and different important points; they shared that it takes the whole team to support and remind each other to successfully incorporate new practices into work routines. Each person might connect with a different element that needs a champion – for example, one person might be inclined to keep track of time and remind about water breaks, while another could care about making sure everybody does a morning warm-up. When the work increases, the need for reminders increases, too. It’s easy to get sucked into tasks and forget about ourselves. We are all doing the best we can and need support sometimes. Having flexibility and choice about what to learn, and when, was also intentional in the creation of this event – autonomy, sovereignty, freedom: they all have a body-felt sense to them. Learning about caring for ourselves should be something we can each approach in our own way, taking an interest in our own care.

Jamila Siddiqui, from Madison, shared that “as an aspiring farmer with a disability, it can be really scary. I think about ‘how do I even do this?’, ‘can I do this?’, and to learn not just the tools and techniques, but also get encouragement from other farmers that are like ‘I’m doing it, and you can do it too – just remember this tip.’ It was so awesome.”

Everyone involved was so grateful to the owners of Squashington Farm, Sarah Leong and Pat Hager, who were willing to make room for us in the midst of a massive day of planting, the day before going to market at the Dane County Farmers Market, and still joined us with their crew for the sessions! Sarah said that they were happy to host because “the topic is great. To make farming sustainable and a long-term career everyone needs to be aware of how to care for themselves, how to use the right tool for the right job; it’s just a very applicable workshop.”

This event was an example of how we can work together to build up our knowledge and confidence about taking care of ourselves – minds and bodies – while also taking care of the land. The MVEG Network, FairShare, UW Madison-Extension, and the Farm Labor Dashboard all share an interest in supporting farmers’ overall wellbeing and meeting them where they are. Bringing together over 20 attendees to learn hands-on from experts, and each other, around ergonomics, body mechanics, farm safety culture, tool modifications, and healthy strategies felt like a successful start to spring.

Bio:

Laura is a market vegetable grower, founder of Vital Ground Farm, and Executive Director of West Side Farmers Market in Saint Paul, MN. As a farmer and massage therapist, she uses her experience and expertise to be an advocate and educator around farm wellness. Laura was a presenting trainer and co-organizer for this event.

Issue: Jul 2024
By: Laura Fredrickson-Gosewisch