Youth Ag Safe Day Held for Crook County Students
Agriculture is the third largest industry in Wyoming, just behind mining and tourism. Agriculture is also an industry where 33 children in the U.S. are injured daily, and a child dies every three days – surpassing all other industries combined.
In an industry so crucial to America, prevention education is imperative, so Youth Ag Safe Day was created.
According to the National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention, youth agriculture fatalities are primarily related to vehicles and machinery, such as tractors, skid steers and mobile implements; drowning and fall or crush incidents.
Many of these injuries and deaths are due to the smaller size of children, lack of experience and being given independence on tasks beyond their capabilities.
Additionally, kids visiting farms and ranches are exposed to conditions and events they are unfamiliar with and don’t know how to handle.
University of Wyoming (UW) Crook County Ag and Natural Resource Extension Educator Sara Fleenor planned an agriculture safety day primarily aimed at students in seventh and eighth grades.
The event was designed to educate kids who are getting old enough to be given more responsibility and independence.
Working with the Crook County Public Health Prevention Coalition, hands-on programing was catered to production and industries found in Crook County. By creating educational opportunities to teach safety measures on events commonly seen in Wyoming agriculture, the expectation is to prevent serious injury or death.
Specialists and safety personnel from Powder River Energy Corporation (PreCorp), Devils Tower Forest Products, Crook County Emergency Management, Crook County Sheriff’s Department and Grossenburg Implement presented hands-on learning stations for over 200 students from the three Crook County schools.
FFA chapter officers from the Bearlodge/Sundance FFA, Devils Tower/Hulett FFA and Whitcomb/Moorcroft FFA led student groups, and students were given real-life scenarios and demonstrations to learn about the dangers they might encounter.
PreCorp demonstrated powerline danger and electrical safety protocol. Additionally, they demonstrated the need to call 811 to locate underground powerlines before digging and how this call could save a life.
Students were shown what happens in the event of a downed powerline and how to safely maneuver around electricity. They were educated on what to do if a powerline hit their vehicle, and if exit was critical, how stepping correctly could prevent death.
Logging is an important industry in Crook County, and Devils Tower Forest Product employees shared timber operations and safety measures for logging, forklifts and chainsaws. Images of safety hazards and the resulting injuries were also provided to students.
The Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management gave information about laws, potential dangers and how to stay safe. Students were shown computer and drone capabilities in the event of a missing person. They were also told how to properly call 911 and what information they should have ready for the operator.
Tractor safety, power take-off dangers and moving equipment hazards were presented by Grossenburg Implement with their tractor and baler demonstrations.
Participants were also served a lunch provided through a generous grant from the Wyoming Pork Producers Council, Crook County Farm Bureau and Pinnacle Bank of Wyoming.
Planning is underway for another safety day next fall. Individuals interested in participating in this event can contact the Crook County Extension Office at crookcty@uwyo.edu.
Sara Fleenor is the University of Wyoming Extension agriculture and natural resources educator serving Crook County. She can be reached at sfleenor@uwyo.edu or 307-283-1192.
