We’re creating injury prevention messages that highlight personal stories and first-hand experiences.
Who are the storytellers? Farmers, agricultural workers, and family and community members who’ve been impacted by injuries, fatalities, or close calls.
Told in their own words, their experiences provide valuable information to learn what went wrong and how to prevent similar incidents.
The common thread is “We don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
Our Team
Ellen Duysen
Ellen serves as the coordinator and outreach specialist for the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Ellen raised hogs, cattle and three rascally boys on farms in Colorado and Iowa. This experience provided her with an understanding of the many hazards related to farming and ranching. Ellen has heard many stories of work-related injuries and fatalities while conducting educational outreach with Ag communities. She believes that these stories can serve to raise awareness and start conversations about the best methods to prevent these incidents. Email ellen.duysen@unmc.edu
Scott Heiberger
Scott is the communications manager at the National Farm Medicine Center (NFMC) and a member of the outreach team at the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (UMASH). Scott is a former newspaper reporter who produces agricultural safety and health content for a variety of platforms. He also assists media professionals and has co-authored four peer-reviewed articles on the communication of agricultural safety and health via media outlets. Email heiberger.scott@marshfieldresearch.org
Stephanie Leonard
Stephanie is from a farming family in northwest Iowa. She works as an industrial hygienist and occupational safety manager at the University of Iowa and is an outreach team member with the Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health (GPCAH). Steph has provided health and safety consulting services to a wide range of employers, including farmers and agribusinesses, and she has investigated work-related injuries for the Iowa Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program (FACE) Program. Her roles in Telling the Story include interviewing our storytellers and sharing best practices to prevent injuries. Email stephanie-leonard@uiowa.edu
Melissa Ploeckelman
Melissa is the full-time outreach specialist at the National Farm Medicine Center and a member of the outreach team at the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center. Formerly an agricultural instructor, Melissa has always lived and worked in central Wisconsin and enjoys helping out on the family dairy farm. She is excited that this project will allow farmers to reach out and help others learn about safety without going through traumatic experiences themselves. Email ploeckelman.melissa@marshfieldclinic.org
Risto Rautiainen
Risto grew up on a farm in Finland. He has an MS in agriculture from the University of Helsinki and a Ph.D. in Occupational and Environmental Health from the University of Iowa. He is a professor at the University of Nebraska College of Public Health, and he directs the NIOSH-funded Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH) in Omaha. Risto’s main interest is in studying why agricultural injuries happen and how they can be prevented. He has over 30 years of experience in agricultural safety and health research and outreach in Finland, Canada and the US. Email rrautiainen@unmc.edu
Aaron Yoder
Aaron grew up in central Pennsylvania where he spent time working on his grandfather’s farm. He studied agricultural safety and health at Penn State and Purdue, focusing on injury reporting and data collection. Aaron currently is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and works with projects through Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health. He is a past president of the International Society for Agricultural Safety and Health and serves on the Board of Directors of the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America and Progressive Agriculture Foundation. Aaron maintains leadership roles in the eXtension.org/AgSafety Community of Practice, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, and the USDA NCERA197 Committee for establishing priorities at Land Grant University for ag safety and health research and education programs. Email aaron.yoder@unmc.edu
Cassie Edlund
Cassie is the Senior Communications Manager and Evaluation Specialist at the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (UMASH). Raised in Minnesota and with a background in public health education and communication, Cassie enjoys using storytelling to share important messages. Her role with UMASH and previous work Extension has allowed her to connect with individuals, families, and a range of communities from rural, suburban, and urban areas, to share their experiences through stories and promote positive change. Email edlun072@umn.edu
Kelsey Irvine
Kelsey is the Communications Specialist for the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH). She grew up on an acreage in Nebraska with lots of animals and machinery. Kelsey obtained her Master in Public Health degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, with a focus on health promotion. Kelsey’s work focuses on creating health literate materials for people to use to make choices about their health and safety. Email kepalm@unmc.edu
Our Organizations
Telling the Story Project is a collaborative effort of the following organizations, made possible through funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Program (NIOSH AgFF).
The Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH) was established in 2011 and is located at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health in Omaha. CS-CASH serves a seven-state region, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri. The center focuses primarily on respiratory disease research, injury surveillance, hearing protection, educational needs of farmers, including non-traditional farmers, their family members, and workers.
The National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety is one of 12 agricultural centers funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the only center dedicated to childhood agricultural injury prevention.
The Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (UMASH), located in Minneapolis and established in 2011, is a multidisciplinary collaboration of five leading research and health care institutions: The University of Minnesota School of Public Health and College of Veterinary Medicine, National Farm Medicine Center of the Marshfield Clinic, and the Minnesota Department of Health. UMASH embraces a One Health philosophy, recognizing the connections between human, animal, and environmental health when addressing existing and emerging occupational health and safety issues in agriculture.
The National Farm Medicine Center (NFMC) was established in 1981 in response to occupational health problems seen in farm patients coming to Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin. The center continues to focus its research and outreach on rural populations. Current safety and health priorities include children, agritourism, beginning farmers and ranchers, and injury surveillance, which are addressed by staff with special expertise in injury prevention, public health, bioinformatics, nursing, anthropology, education, and communications.
