News : Annual Agricultural Safety Day

Belle Plaine FFA members teach skid loader safety during Ag Safety Day

By: V-S FFA Co-Reporter, Josh Wiley

On Saturday, September 26th, surrounding kids from Benton County gathered at the Benton County Fairgrounds to learn more about safety around agriculture. There were 10 stations, including fire safety, water safety, grain safety, animal safety, electric safety, skid loader safety, ATV safety, first aid, 911 calls as well as semi and tractor safety taught by local FFA chapters and community experts. The learners were at each station for 15 minutes and gained the basic knowledge of safety for all ten categories. Each kid received a snack provided by Benton County Farm Bureau and UnityPoint Health. The meal after all the stations was provided by the Benton County Pork Producers. Kaitlyn Fleming was one of the kids that attended the day, and she had a blast. When asked what her favorite part about the day was, she said, "My favorite part about the day was the horses. They were trained to pick their legs up really far and it was just fun to see." After asking around to multiple kids, the overall impression was that the animal safety station was a very popular station. Masks were worn and hand sanitizer was provided at all stations in efforts to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, the stations were in groups of ten or less to minimize contact with others. Lunch and snacks were served in individual packages as well. The day was a success and the students all learned a lot about agriculture safety.

Josh Wiley and Clayton Mckenna from the Vinton-Shellsburg FFA Chapter teach grain safety.

Belle Plaine FFA members teach skid loader safety.