Strap on stool can make nursery fieldwork more comfortable

By Marcia Miquelon, Outreach Specialist
UW Madison Healthy Farmers, Healthy Profits Project

"We love our milking stool!" states Tim Powers of Laws Nursery in Hastings, MN. This past summer, Powers and his employees tried out a one-legged stool that straps around the waist, enabling them to sit while pruning birch clumps in the field. He was asked to try the stool by researchers from the University of Wisconsin's Healthy Farmers, Healthy Profits Project and subsequently purchased three for his nursery. The stool reduces the amount of stooping or kneeling workers must do to weed, take cuttings, prune low-growing plants or collect seed, thus reducing stress on the back, hamstrings and knees.

The one-legged stool features a nylon belt that fastens around the waist, and has straps extending from the belt to the seat of the stool that adjust for a snug fit. Once you have fastened the belt and adjusted the straps, the stool moves with you and is easy to sit down on again in a new location. The seat is made of durable hard plastic, and the single metal leg is adjustable to three different heights for performing a variety of tasks, and features a 3 ½" wide, spring-like base, so that you do not sink into the ground.

"It's very handy," claims Carrie Portz, nursery manager at Avant Gardening in McFarland, WI. "We've all been using it, particularly when we weed containers. I wish I could have it on me all the time, because there are so many times when I want to sit down. It's faster than using a 5-gallon bucket, because you don't have to drag the bucket. Usually you abandon the bucket, and end up bending over, and your hamstrings end up sore from that. Having the stool is definitely more comfortable than bending over."

Originally designed for milking cows, the stool can be obtained from most dairy equipment dealers or farm supply outlets. It is called the Port-a-stool or Texas milking stool, and is manufactured by Kruuse, a Dutch company. Nasco of Fort Atkinson, WI carries the stool on its website at www.enasco.com. At $20-30 each, the cost of the stool is low enough that it will pay for itself if workers need fewer breaks for a few days or weeks.

For more information about the Healthy Farmers Project, please see http://bse.wisc.edu or contact Marcia Miquelon or Nicole Hosto at (608) 262-1054.

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