Gold Star FS, Farm Bureau host Safety Day for children May 5

“One child dies every three days on a farm in the United States, and that's too many, ” said Sheri Saskowski, environmental health and safety specialist for Gold Star FS.  

In an attempt to help lower that statistic, GoldStar FS and the HenryCounty FarmBureau are sponsoring a free HenryCounty Progressive Agriculture SafetyDay for children.

The Progressive Agriculture Safety Day will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 5 at the HenryCounty Fairgrounds, in Cambridge. 

The event will feature interactive, hands-on demonstrations include anhydrous ammonia safety, grain entrapment prevention, fire safety, bicycle safety, firearm safety, ATV safety, first aid and more.

The lessons are designed for children ages 5 to 12, but families are welcome and encouraged to attend together. “Parents, grandparents or aunts or uncles are invited to come along,” said Saskowski.

This event is free and includes a T-shirt, grab bag and lunch.

“The Progressive Agriculture Safety Foundation has been around for decades, and whenI started at Gold Star FS, I saw a need in the community for more farm safety focused events,” said Saskowski.

In 2016, she applied to the foundation to bring a Progressive Agriculture SafetyDay to Henry County and learned last fall that her application had been successful.

The Progressive Agriculture Safety Day program, the largest rural safety and health education program for children in North America.

The foundation’s mission is to provide education, training and resources to make farm, ranch and rural life safer and healthier for children and their communities. The foundation provides T-shirts and grab bags as well as training information and insurance for the day.

While education is key, Saskowski said presenters also want to make sure children attending enjoy themselves.

“Because it’s geared toward kids, we want to make it fun and interactive. There will be demonstrations and we will get the kids involved,” she said.

Growmark’s anhydrous safety trailer will be on site, and lessons on ATV, firearm, chemical, lawn mower and animal safety will be presented. Grain entrapment demonstrations also will be given.

Members of the Cambridge FFA will give the ATV and animal safety lessons, with other community business leaders and organizations presenting additional lessons.

“We want to emphasize that it’s a free event, and we’ll have great presenters,” said Saskowski. The day’s events will take place in the Merchants Building at the fairgrounds.

Advanced registration is encouraged to ensure there are enough supplies. To register, visit www. goldstarfs.com/safety-day or call (309) 937-3369.