PAF Safety Day Coordinator Spotlight: Justin Tucker

Farm safety and disaster preparedness became very personal to Justin Tucker, agriculture educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Franklin County New York, when their family’s dairy barn burned to the ground due to an electrical fire in 2016

“After that day, I could not stop thinking about what we could have done differently or could have been better prepared,” said Justin. “This is why I help educate people on the importance of safety on a farm.”

In an effort to continue his educational efforts with more efficiency and organization, he started searching the web and found the Progressive Agriculture Foundation.

“My community is surrounded by agriculture, and I believe that holding a PAF Safety Day educates and reminds people how fast accidents can happen and helps them better understand the dangers that are present on farms,” said Justin. “PAF is a leader in agriculture safety, and I partner with them because of the collaboration and assistance with coordinating these large events.”

He appreciates that PAF has built an organization that focuses on safety and the unique and engaging ways to deliver potentially life-saving messages to participants. He also really likes how PAF works closely with its Coordinators to help build a better program.

“As an agriculture educator, it is a top priority to help educate and prepare people in our communities,” said Justin. “I implement my PAF Safety Day as part of my plan of work annually.

“I had several children this year that knew the answers to some of my questions I had for them, which showed me that they were paying good attention and retaining what I was teaching them about farm animal safety.”

According to Justin, if someone is considering bringing a PAF Safety Day to their community, they should start now. He said, “do not wait until disaster strikes to begin, as this Program could prevent an avoidable incident and help others prepare for when disaster strikes.”