By Jessica Roelofs, myFS and FieldView sales and support for AGRIS Co-operative.

I was pleased to represent AGRIS Co-operative at the Chatham-Kent Farm Safety Day held at the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus. I’ve participated in this event for four years, and it was great to represent AGRIS Co-operative.

Cassie Brunsveld and Angela Vyn organized the event and invited me back this year as a volunteer. I led a group of kids around each station, and it was a great day! The stations included: 

Hand Tool Safety – each kid got to build a wooden model plane

Electrical Safety with Entegrus – Kids were able to try on different electrical gloves and used some of their tools to complete a relay race

Farm Equipment Safety with Huron Tractor – kids got to climb up in the tractor, and the Huron representatives would show each person the different blind spots

Fire Safety with Orford/Highgate Fire Department – kids were able to put out a fire with an extinguisher, climb into the back of the fire truck and sit in the cab

Bike Safety with the Chatham-Kent Police Service – The kids learned about the laws regarding bike riding and played “Simon Says,” using correct hand signals when riding on the road

Grain Safety with Sylvite – Three garbage bins were on display, each containing a wood disk in the bottom tied to a rope. The first bin had no grain (representing an empty grain bin); the second bin was half filled with grain (representing being waste deep); the third bin was full (representing buried neck-deep in grain). The kids then tried to pull the disk up to demonstrate how difficult it is to pull someone out of a grain bin

First Responder – Kids were able to try CPR on an adult and baby “CPR Annie”

PTO Demo – A straw-filled dummy was thrown onto an uncovered PTO to show how fast someone can be pulled into one and what can happen

Overall, the day was an excellent experience for the kids and all the volunteers. Each child took home a swag bag filled with different items donated by each company. Thanks to AGRIS Co-operative for the colouring books and crayons!

There was also a draw for some bicycle helmets and two children’s bicycles. The kids learned a lot and were intrigued as it was a very interactive and fun way to learn about safety on and around the farm, but it was also a very serious subject.

Images from the day