Contact: Scott Heiberger 1-800-662-6900 Ex 7 - Heiberger.Scott@ASHCA.com

ASHCA in Action & Organizational Information:

 

ASHCA provides input for USDA-CSREES grants

ASHCA is looking out for the agricultural producer by promoting occupational safety and health in major research and extension initiatives. ASHCA provided input at a public stakeholder meeting, Oct. 27, 2008, in Washington, DC, regarding competitive grants associated with the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, provided by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Cooperative States Research, Education/Extension Service (CSREES). Marsha Purcell delivered spoken and written testimony on behalf of ASHCA. (The written statement is posted on www.ashca.org.) Section 7410 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub .L. No. 110-234) is making available in fiscal year (FY) 2009 $18 million to fund a Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP). ASHCA has suggested Work Safety and Health as a topic. Even conservative estimates of the cost of farm related fatalities, injuries, and disease suggests that the agricultural safety and health problem is a $5 billion issue. Losses of this scale reduce economic competitiveness in a global economy. CSREES anticipates releasing the FY 2009 Request for Applications (RFA) for the Beginning Farmer initiative in January 2009 with a 60-day open period. For details, go to http://www.csrees.usda.gov/business/reporting/stakeholder/new_09_programs.html