UW-River Falls to Establish Center for Dairy Farm Safety

Sept. 26, 2011--The University of Wisconsin-River Falls has received a $134,000 Susan Harwood Training Grant from the Occupational and Safety Health Administration to establish the Center for Dairy Farm Safety (CDFS). The CDFS will be developed and managed in collaboration with UW-Extension.

The goal of the CDFS is to bring together best practice protocols for dairy operation occupational safety and health programs. This grant will strengthen the capacity of both UW institutions by developing new curriculum designed with dairy industry involvement; extending outreach capabilities to dairy producers; and provide training to future producers and managers by incorporating the curriculum into secondary education courses.

Outreach activities will include a series of workshops offered in 16 locations throughout Wisconsin with an anticipated start date of spring 2012.

The Susan Harwood Training Grant Program awards grants to nonprofit organizations on a competitive basis. The focus of the program is to provide training and education for workers and employers on the recognition, avoidance, and prevention of safety and health hazards in their workplaces, and to inform workers of their rights and employers of their responsibilities under the OSH Act. Target audiences include underserved, low-literacy, and workers in high-hazard industries. Since 1978, more than 1.8 million workers have been trained through this program.

For more information regarding the CDFS, contact Connie Smith, UWRF director of risk management, at 715-425-3344 or email connie.smith@uwrf.edu.