Health & Safety

We have been educated to Reach and Teach everyone

Wash Your Hands!

That’s what we learned at the “Agritourism: Fun on the Farm Workshop” hosted by the MN Dept of Health (MDH), MN Dept of Agriculture (MDA), and Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety & Health Center (UMASH) at the University of Minnesota in May 2019. Hand washing with soap is the best way to stop germs…hands down! Honestly, it changed our priorities for this year.

Visitor Safety & Health is Our #1 Priority North Star Farm Tour (NSFT) paid attention to the state experts in that workshop, and realized we had work to do before Tour 2019.

We changed our Membership Policy to require a certificate of completion of the MDH online Safer FACEs (Farm Animal Contact Exhibits) training before hosting a public tour. The dinner workshop is only offered once per year, not again until summer 2020.

We created a handwashing station design & construction team to build hand washing stations that appeal to our sensibilities as farmers: durable; stable; easy to clean and store; reasonable cost; efficient waste water storage; and easy to build and clean. Thanks to our sponsors who dug deep to make this happen: — Culligan Red Wing, Runnings Red Wing, Hirshfields Apple Valley, Windswept Hill Farm, Clear Spring Farm, and Culligan Ultrapure Northfield.

“Reach & Teach Everyone,” means EVERYONE. With a grant from UMASH, North Star Farm Tour invested member funds to translate that poster into 18+ languages at the Intercultural Mutual Association Alliance (IMAA) in Rochester.

We want people to use this poster. Just send us back a story that includes a little bit about yourself, where you used it and what the feedback was from users. Our address is on the bottom of the poster.

We researched handwashing station plans online and visited websites for farm safety centers all over the United States before deciding to design our own.

We adopted the phrase “Reach & Teach Everyone” to honor our policy of Diversity and Inclusion as we decided to translate this poster into as many languages as possible – FREE.

We redesigned a simple and easy-to-understand poster we found on the UMASH website and received approval from MDH to make it more colorful and simpler so it’s useable by any group, anywhere. It includes the most important health prevention messages for our visitors. But it was only in English and Spanish.

We used smartphone technology to open access to all of the translations, immediately, for free (see below).

Learn more about UMASH and SaferFACEs

We are Safer FACEs Certified

Each one of our member farms go through the Safer FACEs certification offered through the Minnesota Department of Health. Safer Farm Animal Contact Exhibits is a training program that helps our members better understand the risks of illness and injury that come from contact with animals, as well as how to help keep our visitors safe.

Learn more about Safer FACEs

We thank Menards’ Red Wing for consultation and generous pricing during the 11% sale where we did (sing along everybody), “Save Big Money At Menards’”!
Those fancy red sinks started life as fence feeders at Runnings in Red Wing!
Hirshfield’s supplied us with Storm 4 custom tinted exterior stain that promises many years of protection.
Who knew 20 Handwashing stations fit exactly in a 20’ stock trailer?
All our farms have completed this safety training.
Rich West of Rich West Remodeling in Elk River was recruited to ensure the station bases were built with fine carpentry standards: stainless and coated exterior hardware; inset side panels; bracing top and bottom. Thank you to Clear Spring Farm and Windswept Hill Farm for the labor in constructing the stations.
Our banners reinforce important Health Department messages about safety and health when visiting a farm. We hope the beautiful Handwashing stations and companion posters and banner at each farm attract attention and invite very frequent use. We will happily refill the donated Culligan bottles many, many times!
Our banners reinforce important Health Department messages about safety and health when visiting a farm. We hope the beautiful Handwashing stations and companion posters and banner at each farm attract attention and invite very frequent use. We will happily refill the donated Culligan bottles many, many times!