Working to Improve Safety and Health in Rural Communities
We all hear the horror stories of losing a loved one to a farm-related incident. The families left behind ponder what would have happened “if only.” If only he had been more careful, if only she wasn’t in such a hurry, if only we had known.Moved by stories of farming-related tragedies, Jack Odle, editor of The Progressive Farmer, launched an effort in 1995 to help prevent farm deaths. This effort evolved to become the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® program. Now in its 19th year, the effort is continuing the mission of eliminating farm injury and death by providing education and training to make farm, ranch and rural life safer and healthier for children and their communities through its Safety Day program.Today, Safety Days are made possible by the Progressive Agriculture Foundation® (PAF), an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit with a board of directors from the ag industry. PAF is the largest farm safety and health educational program in North America. The curriculum has grown from basic farm safety to include:
- Propane safety
- Fire safety
- ATV safety
- Healthy lifestyles
- Electrical safety
- And many others
PAF is supported by generous sponsors who donate time and money to invest in the next generation of rural North America.The program also has a large network of volunteers who contribute time and skills to host 400+ individual Safety Days annually. In 2012, 19,442 volunteers provided safety information to 79,023 participants.The core mission of the Safety Day program is simple: to keep children safe and healthy. By focusing on topics that are relevant to children in rural areas, the Safety Day program has successfully reached more than 1.1 million children and volunteers.Would Progressive Agriculture Safety Days benefit the families you know? What safety topics would be most important for your community? Learn more about how you can get involved or start a local Safety Day.