In 2007, the Youth Grant Committee recommended Tractor Safety, Agricultural Health, ATV Safety, and Animals/Livestock as focus areas. Following were the recipients with reports and pictures from their projects:
Adams County Youth & 4-H: Kid Safety Day Camp.
This youth run and organized day camp is geared toward educating fellow county youth about safety practices when visiting farms. Community members will speak to topics in their field, e.g. ATV safety by speedway drivers, animal safety by veterinarians, etc.
Iowa State University Extension, Jefferson County: Farm Safety Day Camp.
On Friday, June 29, 2007, Jefferson County held its 3rd annual Farm Safety Day Camp. Our camp was held in conjunction with the Jefferson
County Fair and Kids’ Day sponsored by Jefferson County Farm Bureau.
Our goals for our camp were to develop awareness of farm hazards, decrease incidences and accidents, help youth accept responsibility for their own safety, and increase their comfort level in a farm setting. These goals were achieved through the large and small group sessions held throughout the camp. Our sessions included a demonstration on ATV safety, general farm safety, being safe around livestock trailers, and a presentation by a local nurse. We also had lawn mower safety, grain safety, tobacco awareness, insects to know, and a local propane company gave a presentation. Our opening session was PTO safety with a demonstration by our local farm equipment supplier. Our variety of presentations and demonstrations covered all our goals and gave the participants a wide range of safety information.
Iowa St
ate University Extension, Louisa County: Growing Safe Youth: A Valuable Crop.
Public Health and Extension employees, along with county 4-H youth presented a different safety topic for each day of the five-day Louisa County Fair. Topics included: Transportation Safety, Safety in the Sun, Safety with Animals, Safety While Working, and Safety in the Out of Doors. Youth were engaged in discussion, invited to participate in various activities, and “told one thing they learned.”
Kossuth & Palo Alto County Agricultural Extension Districts: Farm Safety Awareness Program.
An enhancement to the existing youth and adult farm safety training days, the new curriculum will include tractor safety, rural health, and livestock safety. Parents are encouraged to attend with their children to make it a family learning experience.
O’Brien County Extension: Farm Safety Scene Display.
Several years ago, the Sheldon Voc. Ag./FFA Department created an interactive farm safety scene display that identified common farm hazards using small lights. The display became very popular with O’Brien county students and adults. It also was borrowed by other counties to be used in their safety camps.
The transportation and use of the farm safety scene over the years took its toll on the display and as a result, a meeting was convened in 2006 to look at ways to make a display that was more portable and durable and that would reach individuals in both O’Brien and Clay Counties. With help from this I-CASH grant, the resultant project is a scale model of a rural landscape that consists of various potential hazards in and around the farm. Each hazard area on the scene lights up when a toggle switch is “flipped” on the display board.The Farm Safety Scene committee is still working on curriculum and an evaluation instrument. however, the positive comments received have demonstrated the value of this display.
Orient Bulldogs 4-H Club: “Rounding up the Cows” Livestock & ATV Safety Camp.
We applied for a farm safety grant from I-CASH to help fund the safety goodie bags, prizes and educational resources for the attending youth. We distributed educational packets on ATV and livestock safety to Madison, Union, Adams and Adair county extension offices. These packets contained DVDs, CDs, games, demonstrations, posters and brochures for the youth groups to use in their communities.
Using the Farm Bureau Spokesman and the 4-H newsletters, we invited the first 100 4-H youth, 4th through 12th grade, to join us at the Adair County Fair Grounds on June 9, 2007 for an afternoon of games and interactive demonstrations with live animals and actual ATV’s. All attendees received a goodie bag with an ATV safety DVD donated by Arctic Cat, VHS on livestock safety donated by the NIOSH center in Tyler, TX, ATV safety brochures and posters donated by FARM SAFETY 4 JUST KIDS and game pages, no rider stickers, animal brochures and an ATV demonstration flyer purchased through the grant. We had 30 youth in attendance so all 30 youth also received prizes purchased by the grant money. Those prizes were leather gloves, lead ropes, halters, show sticks and coupons for goggles, ATV or horse riding helmets.
Town and Country: Farm Safety: Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program.
This program, led by an FFA advisor, educated participating youth in the areas of ATV and tractor safety, and agricultural health.
Day 1, March 24, 2007-The FFA and teachers presented everything that needed to be done before an implement is turned on-checking oil, checking the battery, etc.
Day 2– March 31—A TRACTOR/LAWNMOWER rodeo/ obstacle course is run thru. There is always an adult in or on the vehicle with the younger student. Tractor controls as well as maintaining control of implements they are towing are reviewed.
Day 3– The students finished testing out, both on the computer and obstacle course in the p.m. In the a.m. three Agri-safe trained nurses talked about hearing protection, respiratory protection/masks, drug prevention, emergency management, general health education.A total of 40 students participated, from 5 school districts. An unbelievable success.