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DECATUR, Ill. — Illinois AgrAbility will host a health and safety tent Aug. 29-31 at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur.
The aim is to provide health and safety resources to farmers and the agricultural community, as well as access to free health screenings and services.
Health and Safety by Illinois AgrAbility will feature 15 organizations from various disciplines, such as health care, public health, public safety and agriculture.
The tent will include hearing and vision screenings, blood pressure testing, blood glucose screening and eye pressure screenings, all free to show attendees.
“We have a great group of organizations prepared to deliver health and safety information to Farm Progress Show attendees. In addition to the health screenings, we will have agricultural safety demonstrations, agricultural assistive technologies on display, information about stress management and mental health, as well as resources for parents to keep children safe on farms,” said Haley Jones, Illinois AgrAbility coordinator.
“The National AgrAbility Project will have an exhibit that will provide examples of assistive technology for the farm, case studies and resources for farmers with physical barriers to operating their farm,” said Stephen Swain, assistive technology specialist with National AgrAbility Project.
“Noise-induced hearing loss affects farmers at a higher rate than the rest of the population because they spend a lot of time around loud machinery and livestock. And it is 100% preventable by limiting time spent in very loud settings or by wearing hearing protection such as earplugs or earmuffs,” said Marsha Cheney with Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health.
“GPCAH will provide fit testing for various types of hearing protection, as well as education about areas and equipment on the farm that are loud enough to need hearing protection and how hearing loss affects everyday life.”
The Health and Safety by Illinois AgrAbility tent will be located at Booth 1225 at the Farm Progress Show.
Show hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 29-30, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 31.
Farm Progress Show tickets are $20 at the gate and $15 in advance. Advance tickets are available for purchase online until the last day of the show.
Purchase tickets and find out more at farmprogressshow.com.
To learn more about Illinois AgrAbility, visit https://extension.illinois.edu/agrability.