About Us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cheryl Tevis has made safety a core theme in more than 30 years of writing for one of America’s most influential farm publications.

Her stories in Successful Farming magazine (readership 1.2 million) describe the unique hazards on farms and report on practical steps to minimize them. This commitment to the safety and health of farm families has earned Tevis the title of 2009 Stueland Scholar as recognized by the National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation.

The award presentation and lecture will be held Wednesday, September 16, at Froehlke Auditorium, Laird Center for Medical Research. A reception is scheduled for 11:45 a.m., followed by the program beginning at noon. Tevis’ talk is titled, "Farm Safety and Health: A Grassroots Perspective."

The Stueland Scholar was established in 2001 to honor the memory of emergency medicine specialist Dean Stueland, M.D., M.P.H., former medical director of the National Farm Medicine Center and vice president of Marshfield Clinic. The award goes to an individual who has made significant contributions in the areas of emergency, agricultural and/or alcohol and drug abuse medicine.

As Senior Farm Issues editor at Successful Farming, Tevis covers everything from water quality to economic development. She authors a regular feature titled "Rural Health," the longest-running family health series in any farm publication. She also supervises a Successful Farming program that awards grants to families for specific safety projects on their farms.

Her 1989 special report, “We kill too many farm kids,” challenged traditional thinking about children in the farm worksite, and helped lay groundwork for research on injury and appropriate farm tasks for children.

In 1999, when the North American Guidelines for Children’s Agricultural Tasks were released by the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety (a core of National Farm Medicine Center), Tevis led development of a special 16-page guidelines resource published by Successful Farming and still used today.

Tevis relates to the farm audience. She grew up on 320-acre grain and livestock farm near Sioux City, Iowa, and received her master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. She and her husband, Stan Lingren, farm near Pilot Mound, Iowa, where they raised two daughters, Allison and Alexa. Tevis devotes considerable time to safety and health beyond her magazine job. She volunteers with her local 4-H club and serves on the Boone County Extension Council. Tevis also served on the board of directors of Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, a national organization promoting farm safety awareness among children. She serves on the Iowa Women in Agriculture Board, steering committee for Hazardous Occupations Safety Training in Agriculture, and advisory council for the Iowa Center for Agricultural Safety and Health.

Tevis is the first non-physician/scientist to be named Stueland Scholar. Past Stueland Scholars: Lynn Goldman, M.D., M.P.H., Johns Hopkins University (2001); John May, M.D., New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (2002); Steven Kirkhorn, M.D., M.P.H., National Farm Medicine Center (2003); John Wheat, M.D., M.P.H., University of Alabama (2004); Paul Gunderson, Ph.D., Dakota Center for Technology-Optimized Agriculture (2006); and James Dosman, M.D., Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture (2007).

The public is invited to attend.

The Marshfield Clinic system provides patient care, research and education with 45 locations in northern, central and western Wisconsin, making it one of the largest comprehensive medical systems in the United States.