Ploeckelman voted to international agricultural safety board

Melissa Ploeckelman, outreach specialist with the National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, has been elected to the International Society for Agricultural Safety and Health (ISASH) Board of Directors by a vote of membership.

ISASH, incorporated in 1962, is a network of more than 200 engineers, educators, insurers, physicians, nurses, veterinarians, statisticians, communicators, social scientists, business leaders and others who play influential roles in agricultural safety and health. Ploeckelman’s term is for three years.

“This is a great show of support from agricultural safety professionals for the valuable role Melissa has played in ISASH and in promoting agricultural safety and health,” said Cap Bendixsen, Ph.D., director of Farm Medicine.

Ploeckelman is a former agricultural educator and classroom teacher who grew up on her family’s dairy farm in Stetsonville. She grew up with four siblings and said her mother played a huge role in her passion for farming safely. “Growing up on the farm had a lot of risks and my mom was always very safety orientated,” Ploeckelman said. Her love for agriculture extended into the FFA and 4-H branches as she was an FFA officer and showed animals at various fairs throughout the state. After graduating high school, Ploeckelman attended college to become an agricultural educator and also served as a state FFA officer. She was selected 2009 State Fairest of the Fairs, a state-funded position in which she represented Wisconsin agriculture.

She served as an agriculture teacher for the Colby School District and also filled the role of FFA adviser for six years.

Ploeckelman joined Farm Medicine in 2017. Her work includes projects with the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, and the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center, both funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. She is responsible for all social media within Farm Medicine, assists with multiple websites, serves as co-lead for media relations and represented Farm Medicine on the executive committee of Wisconsin Farm Technology Days in 2022.

She said although she loved teaching, her passion for safety drew her to the National Farm Medicine Center.

“When the job came up to be an outreach specialist for the National Farm Medicine center and the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Safety and Health I realized it was the perfect fit for me,” Ploeckelman said. “I love sharing resources and information with people in agriculture to keep them and their families safe. I cannot image the pain of losing a family member to an agricultural incident and if I can help other families prevent that it is exactly what I want to do.”

Ploeckelman said with the National Farm Medicine Center she takes the findings of scientists who do research on how farm incidents and fatalities happen and how to prevent them and regurgitates them for public consumption.

Ploeckelman serves multiple roles in ISASH, cochairing the Public Relations Committee and participating in the Conference Planning Committee.

Ploeckelman joins eight other agricultural safety/ health leaders on the ISASH board: Board President Brian Kuhl, president and chief executive officer of Progressive Agriculture Foundation; President-Elect Gloria Brock, John Deere; Wendy Bennett, AgSafe BC; Josie Rudolphi, University of Illinois; Steve Freeman, Iowa State University; Carolyn Sheridan, Ag Health and Safety Alliance; Athena Ramos, Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health; and Briana Hagen, University of Guelph.

She said being a part of the board of directors has opened her eyes to the injury trends in Wisconsin, the U.S. and the world.

“It is fascinating how similar the trends are globally,” Ploeckelman said. “One trend in Wisconsin, the US, and around the world right now is ATV rollovers and traumatic injuries that result. In Australia they call 4-wheels Quadbikes and they are working to change policy to make it necessary for anyone who owns a quadbike to have a bar that helps prevent injury from the bike falling on the operator if it rolls.”

She said Dr. Farzaneh Khorsandi with the Children’s Center in Marshfield is working on a project which is looking at youth operating agricultural allterrain vehicles. She said it’s been interesting to see how the work that is being done in central Wisconsin compares to the work being done around the world.

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“Dr. Peter Lundqvist a member from Sweden is working on similar research,” Ploeckelman said. “Being on the board for this wonderful organization will give me the opportunity to strengthen the opportunities for research and outreach from around the globe to come together and share findings and keep families working in agriculture even more safe.”

Reflecting on all of her past and current experiences have prepared her for being an advocate for farmers and safety at the same time.

“Being a past educator has helped me understand how we can use teachers to share safety messages with students,” Ploeckelman said. “Also, being an advocate for agriculture and a farmer’s daughter has put me in a position to be trusted by other agriculturalists as I share the message of prevention and safety.”

Ploeckelman said while her job with the National Farm Medicine Center and her role with ISASH have her paying attention to the agriculture industry worldwide, she doesn’t forget where she came from.

“While this organization is international, so much is relevant to farmers right here in our own backyard,” Ploeckelman said. “It is so important to remind farm families to slow down, think about what you are doing, and take the extra time to ensure safety while you work.”

She gave an example of the work she is doing and how it can directly affect what occurs on the farm.

“We have a Telling the Story Project where we share stories of incidents that have happened and how to prevent them. One of our story tellers, Brad says it best when he says, ‘It seems like many of us can start a farm accident story, or any accident story for that matter, with the statement, it all happened so fast.’ He said, ‘Being in a hurry is no excuse for an unsafe act; in fact, we all need to take just those two little minutes before every activity to think about safety. It may prevent a serious injury, or may even save a life.’ Now we not only have our research and resources, but resources from around the world we can share with our friends and neighbors right here in Wisconsin.”

A career that started at a young age taking rides through the pasture or parlor is now a career that is affecting the agriculture industry worldwide. If you want more agricultural safety resources, you can find them at www.cultivatesafety.org or https://umash. umn.edu/.

Melissa Ploeckelman