Introduction to the Proceedings of the Third NIOSH Agricultural Health and Safety Conference

The current NIOSH agricultural health and safety programs can be traced to an initiative that began in the fall of 1988. Conferences stemming from the NIOSH Agricultural Initiative began with the Surgeon General's Conference on Agricultural Health and Safety held in Des Moines, Iowa in 1991. As the Centers' program made progress, it was important to carry on the spirit and energy of scientific communication generated by the 1991 Surgeon General's Conference. NIOSH was the lead agency in carrying out the mandate of the legislation and implementing the National Agricultural Health and Safety Initiative. While the NIOSH programs were significantly increasing research and education on agricultural health and safety issues, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation was also funding important agricultural health programs at institutions around the country. The inclusion of these major organizations produced a rich and diverse meeting of agricultural safety and health researchers, program professionals and teachers.