Healthy farms through healthcare access

U.S. Department of Agriculture and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research shows that healthcare and health insurance impact farm economic development, risk management, farm safety, and quality of life. However, farm planning has largely neglected these social and household issues. “Addressing healthcare and health insurance needs in agriculture is overdue,” said Shoshanah Inwood, Associate Professor of Community, Food, and Economic Development.

Marshall County Purdue Extension will host Healthy Farms through Healthcare Access on December 16, at 6:00 PM at the Marshall County Extension office 112 W Jefferson St., Room 304, Plymouth, IN 46563. This educational session will focus on providing decision-making resources and recognizing that every farm and farm family has different goals, priorities, and needs when it comes to health care and health insurance.  “Decisions about these issues must be made within the context of the farm family,” said Inwood. “It’s important to remember there are no right or wrong answers. The goal is to help farmers make informed decisions about these complicated issues.

A North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant funded the curriculum and training. The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program is a producer-driven, decentralized competitive grants and education program operating in every state and island protectorate. Funded by the United States Department of Agriculture's National Institute for Food and Agriculture, the program is run by four regions (North Central, Northeast, South, and West) hosted by land grant institutions.

To register for this program or for more information, contact Marshall County Purdue Extension and Brieanna Slonaker, Ag and Natural Resource Educator, at 574-935-8545 or brieanna@purdue.edu.

Visit the Marshall County Purdue Extension website for more upcoming programs and information https://extension.purdue.edu/county/marshall/index.html