For over a quarter century, Waseca County’s Home and Farm Safety Day has provided invaluable lessons for a generation of fifth graders across the county, with organizers saying that if it can save just one life, the lessons provided will have been well worth it.
Held at the Waseca County Fairgrounds for the first time after years at FarmAmerica, Farm and Home Safety Day featured six safety stations, focused on animal safety, tractor/PTO safety, ATV/snowmobile/boat safety, electrical safety, chemical safety and lawnmower/chainsaw safety.
The feature event was a mock accident, which included the participation of the Waseca County Sheriff’s Office, Waseca Fire & Rescue and North Memorial Ambulance. While no children were harmed in the demonstration, an entire class got to see what would happen in a real accident.
As it historically has been, Waseca County’s Home and Safety Day involved incredible support and collaboration of local organizations, businesses and public safety institutions, all coordinated by the Waseca County Farm Bureau.
Participants ranged from Jacob Katzung and Matt Levisay of Owatonna’s Northland Farm Systems, who were attending the day for the first time, to Dr. Troy Summers, a local veterinarian with Summers Ridge Veterinary Clinic who’s been to nearly every Home and Farm Safety Day.
Over the years, Dr. Summers watched as Home and Farm Safety Day grew from humble beginnings. Initially an initiative of Trinity Lutheran School, the event soon expanded to include Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton and before long, the whole county wanted to join in.
Focused on safety around farm animals, Dr. Summers’s presentation included a dog and a cow, as it for all but one year since he began presenting to students. He talked extensively about the danger posed by rabies, and the challenges of dealing with heavy farm animals.
“With livestock, you’re talking about thousand pound, sometimes two thousand pound animals that you’re dealing with,” Summers said. “They can stomp on you, they can really hurt you.”
While Farm and Home Safety Day started out in Janesville, the event later moved to FarmAmerica as the event grew with students from Waseca. This year, Farm and Home Safety Day was held for the first time at the Waseca County Fairgrounds.
Event Coordinator Debbie Roemhildt said that the Fairgrounds made for a good host of Farm and Home Safety Day, thanks to the central location and large amount of available space, including several buildings which could offer shelter if needed.
“They have so many buildings out here, which is realy nice,” Roemhildt said. “If it was raining, we could use any building.”
Aside from a group of High School students from the Waseca Area Learning Center, all attendees of the Farm and Home Safety Day were Fifth Graders. The Waseca County Farm Bureau’s Steve Schoenfeld said that makes for a good age to teach youth about farm safety.
“Fifth Grade is a good age where the kids can absorb and know this knowledge,” Schoenfeld said. “They get a little bit younger and they probably don’t comprehend what’s going on with some of this safety aspects.”
Waseca County Sheriff Jay Dulas said he’s grateful to have been part of the event long before he became Sheriff, and pledged to continue to stay involved with it, saying it is uniquely comprehensive and spreads a hugely important message to Waseca County’s kids.
By contrast, Reece Boucher, a Compliance and Safety Specialist with Crystal Valley Co-Operative, was attending his first Farm and Home Safety Day, though Crystal Valley has long had a presence at the event. He said he’d had an excellent experience.
“It’s been going really well,” Boucher said. “There’s been a lot of good questions and a lot of curious kids.”
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