Copy

June 2019

View this email in your browser
In this edition: Back to Ag Success Story; BeGrainSafe Hits the Road; FarmSafe Foundation Directors Update; The Corteva Agriscience™ Youth Safety Day Fund; Dr. James Dosman Inducted into Canadian Medical Hall of Fame; Canadian Ag Safety Week Follow Up; CASA 2019 Conference and AGM; and Meet a Board Member. 

Granting Program Continues to Help
 Farmers Return to Work Safely 

The Back to Ag Program is a granting program focused on supporting the cost of adaptive technology for farmers that have experienced a traumatic injury. The Back to Ag Program is the result of a partnership between the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, Farm Credit Canada and the Rick Hansen Foundation.

CASA accepts applications year-round for the Back to Ag program. Applicants must be farmers who have experienced a life-altering incident resulting in a disability. They must demonstrate that the purchase of specialized equipment or the adaptation of existing equipment will help them get back to work on the farm safely. Alan Winters is one such farmer.


In May 2017, Alan Winters of South Stormont, Ontario suffered a crush injury from a manure spreader. As a result of the injury, Alan's right foot and part of his leg were amputated. With the help of Back to Ag, modifications were made to the farm's goat barn including a raised platform that would allow easier milking and feeding of the goats. The Back to Ag program also supported the purchase of easy-pull wagons that eased the burden of hauling feed and bedding for his goats. 

 
“Back to Ag has helped me to literally get back to my feet. Allowing me to do some basic chores easier with more confidence. Thanks... for giving me guidance and making things as simple as possible”.
~ Alan Winters


If you'd like to find out more, visit casa-acsa.ca/grants/backtoag. To donate to the Back to Ag Program, visit https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/farmsafefoundation/.

BeGrainSafe Hits the Road

The BeGrainSafe mobile training and demonstration unit and BeGrainSafe trade show displays are back on the road for the spring and summer season. The season is filling up quickly with both awareness events and firefighter grain rescue training.
 
Watch for BeGrainSafe at these awareness events:
  • CanolaPALOOZA - July 9 (AAFC Research Station, Saskatoon, SK)
  • Ag in Motion - July 16 to 18 (Northwest of Saskatoon, SK on Highway 16)
  • Manitoba Stampede - July 18 to 21 (Morris, MB) 
  • Crops-a-Palooza - July 24 (Carberry, MB)
  • Queen City Exhibition - July 31 to August 4 (Regina, SK)
  • Canada's Outdoor Farm Show - September 10 to 12 (Woodstock, ON)
  • Expo Champs - August 27 to 29 (Saint Liboire, QC)

Board of Directors
Update

The FarmSafe Foundation welcomes Melissa Parkinson to the Board of Directors!

Born and raised on a dairy farm in Brantford, Ontario. Melissa studied Agricultural Economics at the University of Guelph and started her career with BASF Canada. She has worked in various sales and marketing roles with BASF across Canada. She currently manages the Canadian Cereal Crop Business as Cereal Crop Manager.  Melissa lives with her husband in Regina, SK.

The Corteva Agriscience™ Youth Safety Day Fund

The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) is proud to collaborate with Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont to offer funding to organizers to offset the costs of hosting a safety day event.

Each year, communities across Canada host Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® events reaching approximately 17,000 Canadians each year. These days are invaluable to the children and families that attend them. Participants learn about the hazards and risks associated with farming and rural life. However, a barrier that many communities face is the cost of hosting such an event. That’s where the Youth Safety Day Fund sponsored by Corteva Agriscience comes in.

Coordinators are able to apply for up to $700 for each Safety Day event to cover costs like venue rentals, speaker fees, busing and lunches. Applications can be found on the CASA website. 

Dr. James Dosman Inducted into Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

On May 2, 2019, Dr. James A. Dosman, founder and director of the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture (CCHSA) and co-founder of the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. Dr. Dosman “has devoted his long career to improving and protecting the health of agricultural workers in Canada and throughout the world. Farmers who feed our cities and who help to feed the world have a tireless advocate in Dr. Dosman, whose achievements have secured him recognition as 'the father of agricultural medicine in Canada.'” READ MORE
 
Congratulations Dr. Dosman! 

Canadian Ag Safety Week Follow Up

Thanks to the support of friends, CASA members, sponsors, and the agricultural community, Canadian Agricultural Safety Week was a great success! 
Some highlights include:

 
>8 Million reached via online media stories
> 1,400 Downloads (agsafetyweek.ca)
#AgSafeCanada Social Reach: >4 Million Reached (More than 3.5 Million on Twitter and over 400K on Facebook)
Over 9k AgSafe Ribbons distributed
18 Friends of Ag Safety Week
7 Provincial Ag Ministers Supported CASW 2019 with a statement, proclamation, media release, or video. (NFLD, NS, QC, ONT, MB, SK and AB)


AgSafe Ribbons and media kit items are always available for you to use! Visit agsafetyweek.ca to order Ribbons or download content for use in newsletters, social media, and blogs. Thank you for Building an AgSafe Canada! 
 

Meet a CASA Board Member!

Carolyn Van Den Heuvel grew up on a beef farm outside of Antigonish, Nova Scotia. From a young age, Carolyn was involved in the farm and always knew she wanted to work in agriculture.
 
With a love of agriculture, Carolyn attended (the former) Nova Scotia Agricultural College where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, majoring in Animal Sciences minoring in Agricultural Business. Upon graduation, Carolyn was sure of one thing, she wanted to work in agriculture, at the producer level in a capacity that helped move the industry forward. After spending a couple of years post-degree working on dairy farms, Carolyn started her career with the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) on a pilot project in partnership with the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture (NSFA). From there, Carolyn continued with the NSFA transitioning from Farm Safety Coordinator, to Farm Safety Manager to Director of Outreach and Member Relations, the position she holds today.
 
Carolyn joined the CASA board in 2015. When asked why she joined the board Carolyn tells us “It’s really important to me to give back to my community and industry, while helping our industry grow. My position on the CASA Board allows me to do just that. I’m excited to work with such a wonderful group of directors and staff to move health and safety forward in Canada’s agriculture industry”.
 
Carolyn is a Professional Agrologist and currently working towards her Certified Association Executive designation.
Copyright © 2019 Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.