Floyd County fourth graders spend day learning about farm safety

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

Floyd County fourth graders spent the day learning about farm safety on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at the annual Progressive Ag Farm Safety Day Camp.

Fourth grade classes from Charles City, Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock, Central Springs, Immaculate Conception, and Gospel Lighthouse came together at the Floyd County Fairgrounds for a day of educational demonstrations on a range of safety topics.

“It’s been good,” said Charles City FFA instructor Bret Spurgin. “It’s been a really nice day and everything is going smoothly.”

Tractor safety, grain bin safety, animal handling and more were emphasized as professionals across a range of fields held short seminars.

While fewer students today may have exposure to the specific dangers of a farm than in generations past, the event still offers useful safety information for outside the farm. From learning about dangerous household products to how to be safe around electricity to basic CPR training, the students received a lot of information about how to respond to dangerous situations. The daylong event even included safety seminars about being around smaller motorized vehicles like lawn mowers and ATVs. Bicycle safety was also new on the agenda.

“It’s an important event for these kids,” said Spurgin. “It’s good to learn about these things.”

Guiding the fourth graders around for the day were high school FFA students, many of whom recalled going through the program themselves.

“I think it’s a good learning experience for all the little kids,” said Vincent Benning.

The FFA students enjoyed seeing the fourth graders get engaged with the safety discussion and appreciated their job as role-models for the younger students.

“It’s nice knowing that you’re helping out and getting the message across,” said Carson Holm.