Farm safety research to practice: the long road from the laboratory to the farm.

Research to Practice is a critically important component in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (CDC/NIOSH) mission of conducting applied research in support of worker health and safety. All of the excellent research in the world will not help workers if the products of that research are not effectively integrated into widespread use in industry. For this reason, Research to Practice has been a major program emphasis within NIOSH. Although success stories can be found, few come from agriculture, the authors maintain, because of a range of unique economic and regulatory factors present in this sector. The purpose of this commentary is to discuss the major factors standing in the way of bringing proven agricultural safety innovations into commercial production, and to outline a range of possible solutions to these structural challenges.