Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Program

Key points

  • The Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing (AgFF) Program provides scientific leadership to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses among agricultural, forestry, and fishing workers.
  • The Program works with partners to conduct research, develop controls and technologies, and produce resources for workers and employers.

Overview

Photos of an apple harvest, fishing boats, and forestry worker.
The AgFF program focuses on agriculture, forestry, and fishing workers.

To Learn More‎

This page provides information about the goals and activities of this NIOSH Research Program. For related prevention and safety information please visit the NIOSH Agricultural Safety or Commercial Fishing web pages.

The Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing (AgFF) Program provides leadership and coordination between intra- and extramural efforts nationwide to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses among the nation’s agricultural, forestry, and fishing workers.

The NIOSH-funded Centers for Agricultural Safety and Health and NIOSH Center for Maritime Safety and Health Studies conduct much of this research, as well as regional capacity-building, outreach, and research-to-practice activities.

The Program also collaborates with partners in industry, labor, trade associations, professional and service organizations, and academia to advance research and promote best practices.

Program priorities

The AgFF Program has selected research priorities on the basis of burden, need, and impact and collaborated with other NIOSH research programs to write the research goals in the NIOSH Strategic Plan for FYs 2019-2026. Priority areas include (but are not limited to):

  • Conducting research to understand and decrease exposure to hazards that cause disease and injury in AgFF industries.
  • Developing and evaluating control measures and technologies to protect workers.
  • Producing educational, outreach, and prevention programs to guide workers and employers.

What we've accomplished

In 2022-2023, the Program:

What's ahead

In the future, the Program aims to:

  • Partner with the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Northeast center for Agriculture Safety and Health, and others to host the Sixth International Fishing Industry Safety and Health Conference (IFISH 6).
  • Develop and disseminate a campaign, including new materials on mowing around water, to prevent youth worker fatalities and injuries due to mowers.
  • Provide a NIOSH Ag Center mentorship opportunity for new Tribal bison herd workers with peers who have established herds.
  • Organize 10 logging safety best practices trainings for professional and part-time loggers in partnership with Game of Logging across New York State.

Contacts

Contact the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing program with any questions at NIOSHAgFF@cdc.gov

Resources

More information on this topic can be found on the following pages:

NORA Council

The AgFF Program helps lead the NORA Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Council, which brings together individuals and organizations to share information, form partnerships, and promote adoption and dissemination of solutions that work.

NIOSH-funded Centers for Agricultural Safety and Health

The extramural NIOSH Centers for Agricultural Safety and Health are found throughout the us and work to address the nation’s pressing agricultural health and safety problems through research, education, and prevention projects.

Map of NIOSH-funded AG Center locations.
NIOSH AgFF Offices and Centers for Agricultural Safety and Health