AgInjuryNews Now Tells the Stories of 3,000 Injured Individuals
The team continues to collect, enter, and code reports on a daily basis. We have hit another milestone – over 3,000 individual victims have been entered, reviewed, and published. While these reports are always difficult to read, we take some solace in knowing these reports are meaningful, and there are potential strategies that can be put in place to prevent future injuries from happening.
This is the fifth issue of the AgInjuryNews quarterly newsletter. We hope these will keep our users and collaborators better informed of ongoing initiatives and milestone achievements. As always, if you have any questions, please connect with us.

Training and New Staff
Kyle Koshalek is the newest addition to our AgInjuryNews team. With previous experience working as a quality assurance technician for Organic Valley, the nation’s largest farmer-owned organic cooperative, Kyle combines those skills with his inherent initiative and newly acquired knowledge of agricultural injury and prevention efforts to become well versed in the unique coding system of AgInjuryNews. Kyle has quickly become an integral member of our multifaceted team.
ATV Injury Surge Likely Tied to Pandemic 
The typical summer surge in all-terrain vehicle (ATV) injuries kicked off early this year, as children were out of school due to COVID-19 and parents struggled with child care and working from home. “When school went out in March and kids were at home, we saw more injuries in general, including ATVs,” said Dr. Charles Jennissen, a pediatric emergency physician and clinical professor in the departments of pediatric and emergency medicine at University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine. A media release about this year’s ATV injuries and resulting news coverage stemmed from our CS-CASH funded pilot project, which leveraged AgInjuryNews data.
Newly-Released Wisconsin Farm-Related Fatalities Report Relies on AIN Data
A partnership between the National Farm Medicine Center, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension and UW’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences has resulted in the return of the Wisconsin Farm Fatalities Report, based on data from 2017 (41 fatalities) and 2018 (34 fatalities). The report stemmed from, and leveraged AgInjuryNews data.
 
“This report presents a glimpse into fatal Wisconsin farm injuries in hopes to inform the public and various agriculture and public health teams that work hard to prevent these events from ever happening,” said Dr. Bryan Weichelt, project leader for AgInjuryNews.org.
 
UW had compiled similar reports from 1943 through 2006 based on newspaper clippings and other sources, but it was discontinued as the university did not have a faculty member conducting ag safety-related research after that time frame. Weichelt suggested to Dr. John Shutske, professor and director of the UW Center for Agricultural Safety and Health, that AgInjuryNews.org could be used to help gather content for the report. A partnership resulted using data from both AgInjuryNews.org and Wisconsin Department of Health Services death certificates.
 
Weichelt hopes stakeholders such as insurance companies, equipment manufacturers and farm educators will gain insight from the report. He wants to reach “anyone who eats food and cares about the people who produce it.” 
Auction of Champions
Although we are unable to hold Auction of Champions as an in-person event, we are excited to offer the event you know and love, from the comfort of your home! This year’s Auction of Champions will be celebrated virtually Monday, September 14 through Thursday, September 17.

"Auction Around the World" will feature exclusive auction packages and locally-raised meat through a 4-day virtual event campaign. We invite you to join us in supporting National Farm Medicine Center and their agricultural initiatives dedicated to keeping farmers healthy, happy and safe.

Click here to register!
Now Over 250 Followers on Twitter 
There are more than 330 million active monthly users on the Twitter platform, a social media tool many organizations use to disseminate information and engage with their communities. AgInjuryNews stays connected with stakeholders and collaborators from around the world as best we can, sharing our own team’s data and prevention related materials. 
Core Team Member Makes Career Move
Dr. Serap Gorucu has been a member of our AgInjuryNews team since 2015, playing a crucial role in the coding and analyses of data, and design of the system. Recently, Dr. Gorucu accepted a faculty position with the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, in Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Florida. Dr. Gorucu will continue using her expertise to build and Agricultural Safety and Health Program. Dr. Gorucu's research and extension interests include injury surveillance, All-Terrain-Vehicles, farm tractors, and safety considerations for new and emerging technologies.

The Core Team
Bryan Weichelt PhD, MBA, Associate Research Scientist, NFMC
Emily Redmond 
Research Coordinator & Data Specialist, NFMC
Serap Gorucu PhD,
Assistant Research Professor
Penn State University
Matt Pilz
Programmer/Analyst, NFMC
Rick Burke, MPH
Research Specialist, NFMC
Megan Sauer
Research Assistant, NFMC

Contributors to this Issue
In addition to our Core Team, listed above, the following have contributed to this issue of the AIN Newsletter: Scott Heiberger and Marie Fleisner. Thank you!

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