Federal Funding Cuts Could Affect the National Farm Medicine Center

Tuesday, April 15th, 2025 -- 10:00 AM

Casper Bendixsen, Director of the National Farm Medicine Center has released a statement regarding funding cuts and how it will affect the Center.

“I am writing to make sure you are aware of the latest news regarding cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including reduction of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to a skeleton crew, with nearly all essential functions being eliminated.

The National Farm Medicine Center, part of Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, has leveraged NIOSH competitive grants for decades to safeguard those who live and work on farms and ranches.

The loss of these services and resources threaten to reverse decades of work in one of our nation’s most hazardous industries. Farm Medicine programs funded by NIOSH include the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, one of 12 NIOSH agricultural centers and the only center national in scope.

Since its establishment in 1997, the rate of non-fatal injuries to children in agriculture has dropped by 60 percent. Current Children’s Center projects include:

• Use of the Agricultural Youth Work Guidelines by farm parents and work supervisors
• The promotion of benefits, and reductions of risks, of youth working with large livestock
• Collection and communication about farm injury and illness data and stories
• The protective factors of farm upbringing on child wellbeing
• The importance of high-quality child care for farm families and rural communities

The National Farm Medicine Center is also a co-founding partner in the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center based at the University of Minnesota.

This center is dedicated to the health and safety of agricultural communities in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Dakotas. Important ongoing projects include:

• Creating a national training program for rural firefighters to better prepare for and prevent agricultural emergencies
• Research into how to best retire and continue to live on the farm
• Collecting and sharing stories of injury from real farm families with broader audiences to help prevent future tragedies

NIOSH was created by Congress in 1970 to study worker safety and health. NIOSH focuses on workers in high-risk industries: mineworkers, firefighters, construction workers, healthcare workers and agriculture workers.

By federal standards, the NIOSH budget of $363 million is lean, amounting to $2.20 per American worker. NIOSH centers are located throughout the nation, each with expertise particular to the key industries in that part of the country.

Workplaces often turn to the agency to investigate outbreaks and injuries, such as the deadly fungal outbreak at an Escanaba, Mich., paper mill in 2023, an investigation that involved Marshfield Clinic Research Institute.

In 1990, NIOSH established a network of agricultural centers across the nation, embedded in the communities they serve. These centers have conducted outreach and research on injuries and illnesses associated with agriculture, including pesticide exposure, respiratory health, musculoskeletal disorders and mental health.

NIOSH funding has figured prominently in the history of the National Farm Medicine Center. As friends of the National Farm Medicine Center, it is important that you are aware of the existential threat posed by these cuts.

If these cuts hold, approximately three-quarters of the research and outreach carried out by the National Farm Medicine Center is at risk. These potential losses threaten our communities on many fronts.

Research, education and prevention of disease and injury in rural places cannot be ignored. Please consider reaching out to individuals you may know who have influence.

Pass this information along to anyone you feel may have a voice of advocacy for agricultural safety and health. Thank you for your support of the National Farm Medicine Center and for research everywhere that truly changes lives.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.