Southeast Center for Agriculture Health and Injury Prevention:Integration of Cost-effective ROPS (CROPS) Construction & Installations into AG Mechanics Classes

In this Prevention/lntervention feasibility project we propose to replicate and extend the impact of two high impact programs through a strategic education/translation partnership with agricultural mechanics classes in four Kentucky high schools.One of those programs, the Economics of Preventing Agricultural Injury to Adolescent and Adult Farmers program has trained over 400 students and teachers to integrate life-saving safety information into required school curriculum. The other, In the northeast US, 69 NIOSH-designed Cost-effecitve ROPS (CROPS) have been installed in New York, Virginia, Vermont and Pennsylvania facilitated by NIOSH centers, university partners and Farm Bureau. In this proposed work, CROPS construction and installations will be integrated into required course work on site and supervised by professional agricultural educators and are well within the skill set for new agricultural education standards for project-based, real world, high impact learning goals. Students will be engaged in identifying community needs for CROPS installations, and through a supervised project will construct and install 4-6 CROPS on identified tractors. Increased installations of CROPSwili reduce exposure to crush and roll over injury and fatality in the targeted communities. The feasibility project outcomes are: (1) social media and marketing strategies to increase students' and public knowledge & awareness, (2) curriculum development for CROPS construction and installation, (3) liability issues, if any, associated with implementation in this setting, (4) number of CROPS installations pre- and post the project implementation year and (5) dissemination of findings and strategies in local communities as well as with state and national agricultural educators.