MARSHFIELD, Wis. — Grants for up to $10,000 each are being offered by an ag safety group with a deadline of Jan. 7, 2015.
"It’s not too late. If somebody has a good idea, they can get samples on the website that will turn that good idea into a solid grant proposal," said Scott Heiberger, spokesperson for the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA).
Ag health and safety is the focus of these grant proposals. Eligible applicants are involved in ag production, education or training, and/or research, such as a farmer/rancher, agribusiness owner, ag organization, service leader, safety or public health instructor, or an ag youth organization.
The number of grants available has not yet been determined, but 10 winners were announced last June in ASHCA’s first round of grant awards, Heiberger said. "The vast majority write it themselves. We had a number of first-time successful grant recipients," Heiberger said. "There was a good cross-section of agriculture."
Some of these recipients were commodity groups, farmers co-ops, college affiliates or safety groups, whose proposals included safety training, a new mobile app, personal protective equipment, and safe play zones for farm workers’ children.
The theme of this round of grants is "Strengthening Partnerships for Safety." Applicants will score more points for including one of three priorities: programs that engage both management and workers; strategies with sustainable, proven safety practices, and initiatives that reach underserved populations, such as non-English speaking.
"By sustainable we mean realistic, that it’s not too expensive to do more than once. Proven safety practices are those that have been demonstrated to work or are based on research," Heiberger said.
"We want projects that work ‘in the trenches.’ Those that win will write a report for ASHCA, which will be shared. We want to pass good ideas along," Heiberger said.
Ultimately, ASHCA’s goal is to develop more safety-minded leaders, Heiberger explained.
"The reason we’re doing this is we’re trying to encourage new champions of ag safety. We have established safety groups and initiatives, but we’re looking for new champions with practical, down-to-earth projects," Heiberger said.
For more information and application details, go to www.ashca.org and click on the safety grants program. For specific questions, contact info@ashca.org or call the office at 715-898-1263.
