Potential dangers on farms shared with Redfield students
More than 160 Redfield students in the third through fifth grades learned last week ways to stay safe when visiting or living on a farm.
They also learned how costly a single farm injury could be. According to organizers of a farm safety event hosted by the Spink/Faulk Young Farmers and Ranchers, it could wipe out a farm’s operation profit for an entire year. Costs could include:
• $143,580 for an injury of a youth that required 10 or more days of hospitalization.
• $6,577 for an injury requiring less than 10 days of hospitalization.
• $4,293 in lost work for a hospitalization lasting 10 days or more.
After seeing various demonstrations at the May 12 event, student Aidyn Spotanske told her teacher, “I learned that it is very important to keep all farm equipment clear of power lines.”
Along with the students, the organizers were pleased with the information presented to the youngsters.
“We had an amazingly successful day thanks to all our wonderful volunteers, participants and sponsors,” said Bekah Ihnen, a committee member with the Spink/Faulk Young Farmers and Ranchers and chairwoman of the event. “The goal of the Redfield school district and the Young Farmers and Ranchers was to educate the young kids about safe ways to handle equipment, animals and products commonly found on our farm. Our slogan this year was ‘helping kids stay safe,’ and we hope that with this education, they can do just that.”
Seven stations shared information and demonstrated ways to deal with equipment and items. Three of the stations had visual displays:
• A Wheat Growers grain bin safety demonstration.
• A first responder/emergency medical technician/all-terrain vehicle safety display with an ambulance.
• A machinery/lawnmower safety display with equipment from RDO and Titan.
The other four rotations featured areas relating to livestock, electrical, weather and chemical safety. Each featured an industry expert plus a volunteer from the Young Farmers and Ranchers. Farm Bureau provided farm safety booklets for each student. Each student, teacher and volunteer received a “working together to keep kids safe” T-shirt.
According to information from “Farm Safety For Just Kids,” about 38 children are injured in an agriculture-related incident nearly every day. About 113 kids under the age of 20 die from farm-related injuries per year. And, of the leading sources of fatalities among all youth, 25 percent involved machinery, 17 percent involved motor vehicles (including all-terrain vehicles), and 16 percent involved drowning.
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