1. Southeast Center for Agricultural Health & Injury Prevention
Hazard Reduction Strategies: CROPS Integration in High School Ag Mechanics Curriculum
Stacy Vincent, Ph.D.
University of Kentucky – College of Agriculture, Food, Environmnet (CAFÉ)
Joan Mazur, Ph.D
College of Education
Southeast Center for Agricultural Health & Injury Prevention
International Society of Agricultural Safety & Health (ISASH), Annual Conference, June26-29, Lexington,Kentucky.

2. Our Starting Point: NIOSH Cost Effective Rollover Protective Structure Plans

3. High School Agricultural Education CROPS Integration Rationale
There are approximately 8,000 Ag Ed programs nationwide and in their ag mechanics classes, students must engage in projects that require project planning, skills (measurements), teamwork reading plans and completing projects in work groups. The NIOSH CROPS assembly and installation plans encompass all these required tasks and ties well into agricultural mechanics class work.

4. Feasibility Study:
1) Conducted the feasibility study with 3 Appalachian schools in (Mazur, Vincent, Watson, Westneat (2015).
The aims were: (a) reduce the exposure to tractor overturn hazard in three Kentucky counties through the installation of Cost-effective ROPS on 6 tractors located on farms within the Cumberland Plateau in the east region (Laurel, Whitley and McCreary counties
(b) increase awareness in the targeted rural communities in Kentucky of Cost-effective ROPS designs developed by NIOSH to encourage ROPS installations that decrease the costs of a ROPS by several hundred dollars;
(c) test the feasibility of integration of CROPS construction and installations procedures into the required agricultural mechanics classes (82 students); and
(d) explore barriers to implementing such a program in high school agricultural education (mechanics) programs. Observations and interviews confirmed NIOSH and UK-CROPS statistics and beliefs that ROPS education needs to be a part of the Ag Education curriculum.

5. Extended Feasibility (Curriculum Improvements): 2014-15
In Spring 2014 a pilot grant enabled 5 more KY districts to use the plans, and further gather feedback on teachers’ curriculum needs and implementation issues in the classroom setting. (Mazur, Vincent, Watson, Westneat, 2015)

6. Multi-State Expansion and Summer Teacher Training Workshop
Summer 2014 – Development of CROPS Curriculum Guide
Beginning in Fall 2015 – With funding from a pilot grant from SCAHIP, the UK-CROPS project is scaling up to a multi-state program, with 11 T
These 11 teachers each built and installed 3 CROPS per agricultural mechanics program. The Curriculum Guide was also implemented and underwent testing, feedback and refinement.

7. Hazard Reduction
19 Teachers have implemented CROPS project in 19 schools in 3 states. 437 students have participated and most significantly 52 CROPS have been or are just completing their installations. The number of installations and models of tractors are shown below in Table 1 that follows

8. Hazard Reduction: Costs & Implementation

9. Next Steps Continue multi-state implementation
Continue Summer CROPS Teacher Institutes
Social Media and Crowd-Funding Sustainability Strategies – piloted in
One school Go-Fund-Me – raised $1200 for 2 CROPS builds in upcoming 2016 School Year
Development of a CROPS app

10. Hazard Reduction: Passive vs. Active Strategies
We need BOTH
Active - PPE, Cleaning Operator Platform, tied back hair, glove, installing SMV …
Passive – CROPS, seat and seatbelt