Join the Crusade to Bring Safety & Health Information to the Farming and Rural Communities Who Desperately Need It!

By: Jana L. Davidson, Education Content Specialist for the Progressive Agriculture Foundation Progressive Agriculture Safety Days were created to keep one of your most valuable and irreplaceable possessions safe…..your children!Many in the agriculture industry know someone whose life has been affected by a farm-related injury or death. What is most disturbing is many of these incidents could have been prevented with a few simple safety precautions. A Progressive Agriculture Safety Day®, a program of the Progressive Agriculture Foundation, provides education, training and a variety of resources for local communities to conduct a one-day safety and health program. This year alone, more than 100,000 children & adults will participate in a Safety Day within their local community.Progressive Agriculture Safety Days are designed to be age-appropriate, hands-on, fun, and safe for all children. They are conducted in more than 400 local communities throughout North America. Since 1995, more than 1.3 million children and adults have been impacted through Safety Days. With 28 topics ranging from ATV, PTO, & Tractor Safety to Electricity & Gun Safety, each Safety Day has the freedom to focus on safety-related issues appropriate for their community. Whether participants live on or off the farm, a Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® helps children and their communities becoming safer, healthier and happier!So what exactly do children really learn at a Progressive Agriculture Safety Day®?

• “I will wear ear plugs around loud machinery.”
• “I will always wear a helmet when riding a bicycle or ATV.”
• “Never play in the grain bin!”
• “I will learn my address and make an evacuation plan in the event of a fire.”
• “I am going to tell my parents everything I learned, so we can stay safe together!”

These are just a few of the statements that our participants are making after attending a Safety Day. For many coordinators and planning committee members, the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® is one of their favorite and most rewarding days of the year, as they get to make a positive, lasting impression on the young people in their community. If just one child leaves Safety Day and adopts one new safety practice or educates their family and friends about hidden hazards and potential dangers around their home, ranch or farm, it is all worth it!If you are interested in conducting a 2016 Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® for your school or community, applications are being accepted through July 15. The Progressive Agriculture Foundation provides training and resources for the Safety Day Coordinator, as well as t-shirts, take-home bags and insurance coverage for all youth participants and adult volunteers involved. To apply or learn more about the program visit www.progressiveag.org                                     Photo Caption: Who knew learning about safety could be so much fun? At each Progressive Agriculture Safety Day®, presenters strive to make safety stations both educational and hands-on to reinforce lessons. Participants learn by doing and have fun in the process like these participants at a Safety Day in Alabama.