Reflecting on Preventative Youth Farm Safety and Health Efforts in Rural Communities

Preventing over Repenting Approach

When it comes to children being severely or fatally injured in farming and rural communities, the statistics are sobering. According to the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Safety and Health (NCCRASH), about every three days a child dies, and every day around 33 children are injured due to agriculture-related incidents in the United States. Often what is most heartbreaking is the fact that most of the incidents could have been prevented.

Sadly, when a child dies, the entire community suffers. These tragedies can have lasting, devastating impacts on everything from the emotional well-being of family and friends, a strain on relationships, legal consequences, and can even jeopardize the farm itself. Therefore, for nearly three decades, rather than be reactive to tragedies, the Progressive Agriculture Foundation (PAF) has taken a proactive approach with its Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® (PAF Safety Day) program. Through community, school, and classroom-based programs, along with the new Safety Zone delivery modes, children and families are guided to make safer and healthier choices through participation in various hands-on activities and demonstrations on more than 30 topics.   

While the statistics and news reports speak for themselves, stories of behaviors changed, the adoption of safe practices, or lives saved due to preventative measures or personal protective equipment (PPE), often never get the same recognition or attention they deserve. “PAF Safety Days help bridge that gap in knowledge. I have seen students go home and educate their parents or siblings about what they’ve learned, creating a ripple effect of safety awareness,” according to Sarah Richardson of Sunbury, North Carolina.

It Takes a Village

Each year, PAF educates and equips hundreds of volunteers from across North America to serve in the role of PAF Safety Day Coordinators. These local safety and health champions hail from various professions and organizations, including 4-H/Extension professionals and volunteers; FFA/Ag education; Farm Bureaus; Soil Water Conservation Districts; public health and emergency services; and beyond to bring the program to their local communities. PAF Safety Day Coordinators engage with and help deliver the programs to thousands of youth participants and adult volunteers annually.

For several of the PAF Safety Day Coordinators, their passion and dedication to the program stems from a tragedy they experienced in the past. Others felt a connection from participating in the program as a child, volunteering with the program as a teen or adult, or seeing their children go through the program.

For Safety Day Coordinator, Sara Clemens of Bottineau, North Dakota, her relationship with PAF began in an unexpected yet impactful way when she participated as a middle school student. When Sara’s oldest son was just four years old, his best friend, who shared a love for farming, tragically lost his life in a tractor incident leaving a deep scar on Sara’s son and the entire community. Determined to prevent such tragedies from occurring again, Sara took the initiative to launch a PAF Safety Day program in her county. Since 2020, the program has been offered annually each fall in memory of the young life lost too soon.

Long-time Safety Day Coordinator Tim Roberts of Memphis, Tennessee, feels the opportunity to impart crucial safety information to the next generation represents more than just a duty; it’s a mission. He firmly believes that if even one child can avoid injury or harm due to the lessons learned on Safety Day, then their collective efforts have succeeded.  Time believes, “if we can get the information to as many youths as possible, then maybe days, months, or even years down the road, it will prevent them from getting injured because of something they heard or saw on Safety Day. We have done our job.” 

After first being introduced to the program in 1995 by a fellow Cargill colleague, Sherrie Nestor of Cheyenne Wells, Colorado, has become a stalwart advocate, completing over 34 Safety Day programs since 1999 and volunteering for many more. But for Sherrie, it’s not about the numbers—it’s about the impact. “I want children and adults to be safe in rural areas,” Sherrie emphasizes. Her dedication stems from a profoundly personal tragedy—her grandfather’s fatal tractor accident. This loss ignited her mission to prevent similar tragedies from befalling others, especially her own grandchildren who work in various rural tasks.

Paying it Forward

Recognized as the largest rural safety and health education program for children in North America, PAF Safety Days have reached millions of participants and volunteers since its inception in 1995; however, our job is far from over. 

Through the generous support of our funding partners and program sponsors, the PAF Safety Day program can work to reach more youth with its potentially lifesaving, hands-on education to help prevent devastating agriculture-related incidents from happening – and possibly save a life.

You, too, can join the mission and provide education, training, and resources to make farm, ranch, and rural life safer and healthier for all children and their communities. Visit www.progressiveag.org/donate2024 and make a one-time or monthly donation in honor of or in memory of someone special.

For more information on how to bring a PAF Safety Day program to your local community or learn about volunteer opportunities, visit www.progressiveag.org and click on Get Involved tab.