Keep your body healthy and learn about how to teach others to do so, too! This workshop will cover farm ergonomics, stretching, and strengthening relevant to all people who work on farms.

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Date: April 11, 2023
Location: University of Vermont Horticulture Research and Education Farm, South Burlington, VT
Time: 9 am - 3:30 pm. Lunch is included.
Cost: $35 per person; $20/per person for two or more people from the same farm.
Fees increase to $60 per person on April 9, 2023.
Financial assistance: Please complete this Request Form prior to registering for the workshop to request scholarship support. If you are approved, you will receive a code that you will use to during the registration and payment process to activate reduced registration fees.

In this day-long workshop, participants will learn about and have an opportunity to practice using and teaching ergonomic practices to prevent injuries and support season-long productivity. Topics that will be covered include:

• Basics of ergonomics in agricultural settings
• Practical communication strategies to use when teaching and supervising employees about safety, health and ergonomic topics
• Considerations related to body mechanics for women and implications related to pregnancy, post-partum, and menopause
• Buckets, Bales & Bags - Lifting and carrying heavy items
• Working in Weather - Selecting, fitting and using PPE across body sizes and types
• Selecting and using hand tools (from hoes and shovels to pruners and small-engine power and corded equipment)
• Strengthening and Stretching for farm work
• The Wash-Pack Shed - Opportunities and challenges to designing work spaces that work across body sizes and types.

Participants will leave with a simple action plan help implement improvements on their farms. 

Some parts of the workshop will be indoors in heated spaces, but much of the hands-on practice will be conducted outside and in unheated spaces, so dress in layers and come prepared for the weather.

Presenters include: Aaron Yoder, Farm University of Nebraska Medical Center, who specializes in ergonomic approaches to safety and health in agriculture; Linda Emanuel, director of Women’s Health for the Agrisafe Network; Kendall Kunelius, Seth Wilner & Jesse Wright, University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension; Rachel Steviator, Catamount Farm, University of Vermont Horticulture Research and Education Center.

Questions? Please email Lexi Colantuno or call 802-656-7659