84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 30, 1996
Farm Bureau Rolls With
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
HERSHEY (Dauphin Co.)
The farm community knows that
the public has little knowledge of
where food comes from and of the
expense and difficulties in provid
ing a safe product.
For this reason, more and more
farmers are becoming involved in
community activities in order to
educate the non-farming public.
To ease planning and offer
ideas, the Pennsylvania Farm
Bureau (PFB) has formed a resour
ce committee.
Anna and Bill Swailes, who
chair the committee called State
Promotion and Education, said the
members compiled a resource
book filled with ideas.
“We don’t encourage every
county to have the same promo
tion. What works in one county
might not in another. It’s important
to identify the need and tailor the
event to that,” said Mrs. Swailes.
During PFB’s annual meeting,
spokespersons from several coun
ties shared the success they have
had with promotional events.
Diane Schlauch from Lehigh
County reported on the mini farm
show that is held annually at Trex
lertown Mall. She said that 48,396
people visited the mall that day.
Although not every visitor partici
pated in the agricultural activities,
thousands did.
The agriculture-sponsored
events included a petting zoo,
where 4-H’ers handed out coloring
books of farm animals with expla
nations of all the uses derived from
livestock. Samples of meats, pota
toes, milk, cheese, and fruit were
offered by county commodities. A
giant sundae served 2,600 persons.
Displays of antique tractors, agri
cultural products, and country
crafters drew lots of attention. A
country music and square dance
was held.
In addition, $1,900 was raised
through a mini-auction of agricul
tural products. These funds were
used to send five teachers to the
week-long Ag in the Classroom
Seminar held annually at Penn
State.
“Believe me, we need to get the
ag story in the classroom,”
Schlauch said. “Animal activists
are there. Many of the teachers are
telling children not to eat meat and
are giving the wrong story to our
children.”
Kids Will
Protec
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
HERSHEY (Dauphin Co.)
“It’s been estimated that more than
27,000 children and youth under
age 20 experience severe farm
related injuries and 300 die each
year,” said Scott Whitman, agri
cultural safety communication
specialist at Purdue University.
Whitman held a workshop dur
ing the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau
meeting held in Hershey last week
to help parents prevent child
injuries.
One factor leading to injuries is
that children often help with
chores that are inappropriate for
their age.
Whitman identified the charac
teristics common to age levels and
the potential dangers they face.
“The most common age ranges
for farm child fatalities are 2-4
year-olds and 12-15 year-olds,”
Whitman said.
Tractors are involved in 50 per
cent of child farm fatalities.
Was it worth all the effort?
“You bet!” Schlauch said.
She referred to one teacher who
had been influenced by animal
activists, but after attending an Ag
in the Classroom workshop, was
convinced that farmers do care
about their animals, and she is now
an enthusiastic supporter of the
agricultural community.
The teacher is reported to have
said about the Ag in the Classroom
Seminar, “It has changed my nega
tive image of farmers into seeing
them as hardworking stewards of
the land who care about livestock
and the community.”
Craig Sweger, president of the
Washington County Farm Bureau,
told how their county turned a
potentially negative situation into
a positive one. When the county
commissioners with farm back
ground lost the election and the
three who assumed office had no
agricultural ties, the agricultural
community was concerned.
“We decided we needed to
establish a dialogue with the coun
ty commissioners,” Sweger said.
A catered luncheon featuring
county agricultural products was
held at the courthouse. A resource
book listing the county’s agricul
tural statistics and those pertaining
toward making it the state’s num
ber one industry was given to each
commissioner. Ag commodity
baskets were also given. The coun
ty commissioners were so impress
ed that they requested more com
modity baskets to hand out to
visitors.
But, more importantly, the com
missioners have become enthu
siastic supporters of agriculture
and at their suggestion, a prime
location was made available as a
roadside market
“We took this negative situation
and through cooperation with all
the agricultural groups turned it
into a positive one,” Sweger said.
George Reichard and Titus Mar
tin of Franklin County reported on
the success they had in working
with the county fire and rescue life
support team.
Farmers had the perception that
more medic training and coordina
tion was needed among the rescue
teams when dealing with farm
accidents.
They drew up a map pinpointing
each farm in case of emergency. In
one demonstration, local farm
equipment dealers and farmers
Be Kids—
t Them
Among the younger age groups,
tractor injuries result from being
run over.
“Because kids live and play on
working farms, they can get run
over,” Whitman said. He stressed
the need to make certain areas off
limits and the need to closely
supervise children when outside.
Rules must be set and followed.
Riding on machinery should be
prohibited according to Whitman.
In the older years, tractor over
turns account for 39 percent of
farm injuries.
The tradition of instilling an ear
ly work ethic sometimes places
children and youth in positions
where they are asked to perform
tasks beyond their physical, men
tal, or emotional abilities.
“Parents often assume children
understand how to operate
machinery or other complex tasks,
though they may have never actu
ally received training,” said
Whitman.
(Turn to Pago B 7)
These people serve as the state Farm Bureau resource persons to help promote
agriculture education In counties. From left are Bill and Anna Swalles from Franklin
County and committee chairpersons; David and Patricia Slckler of Columbia County
who represent Region 6; and Shelly Brown of Huntingdon County who represents
Region 2.
portrayed tractor rollover and
implement accidents. When the
rescue workers attempted to
extract the simulated victims, the
workers discovered they did not
have adequate equipment and val
uable time was lost.
Because the rescue teams real
ized the potential problems if such
an accident should happen, more
suitable equipment was purchased
and increased training was pro
vided for rescue.
The rescue effort was also a time
that built relationships between the
agricultural and non-farming com
munity, Reichard said.
Grants are available to fund
farm safety programs. Also the
Penn State Cooperative Extension
and many farm-related organiza
tions will work together on com
munity projects of this sort.
For more information about the
grants or for a fcopy of the idea
book, contact the Swailes at Box
175, Willow Hill, PA 17271 or call
(717) 349-2257.
Three-year-old Nathan already likes to help hoe turnips and pull weeds on his
parents, Trade and Aaron Sturges,’ vegetable farm In. Beaver County. During the
annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, the Sturges attended a session on
child development stages and Implications for Injury prevention to ensure a safe
working environment for their son.
ffOMESTEA
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Promotion Ideas
Dr. George Conneman, economist from Cornell Universi
ty, discusses the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau meeting with
Jan Carson, communications director.
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