OMAHA- A $9 million award was granted to the University of Nebraska Medical Center to help support regional efforts like safety training for bison workers and the study of dust-induced lung injury, among others. The funds will go to the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health, located in UNMC's College of Public Health.

The Center, which is located in Omaha, extends its outreach into surrounding regional states like Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, and South and North Dakota.

The new award will help continue existing ag safety research and training, and will likely be used to launch new initiatives focused on farmer health. They will also help strengthen outreach related to mental health, safe grain handling, and animal handling.

A statement from UNMC stated that one of the most important areas they want to focus on is stress among immigrant farm workers, which they see as a seriously underdeveloped area of study.

The Central States Center is one of eleven regional centers awarded federal funds, all of which work in their respective region to improve the health of farmers.

Risto Rautiainen, director of the Central States Center, stated, "The center can use these funds to continue to serve the agricultural community by discovering causes of injury and illnesses and communicating information about prevention in ways that reach as many farmers and agricultural workers as possible."

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