SIBLEY, Iowa — Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach and DuPont Pioneer are excited to team up to host the 2017 Osceola County Agriculture Safety Day on Monday, Aug. 21 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Osceola County Fairgrounds in Sibley.
Ashley Peters, Osceola County Youth Coordinator with Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach, said that she has always been passionate about educating youth about agriculture safety, and when she brought the idea up to Steve Swenson, a representative of DuPont Pioneer, he offered to provide sponsorship. From there, the real planning began.
“I know that we cannot prepare our kids for everything,” Peters said. “However, we live in agriculturally-driven Northwest Iowa, and there are several scenarios in agriculture that we can prepare our kids to be knowledgeable about and safe around. Our hope is that by attending the Ag Safety Day, youth will be better prepared to stay safe around equipment, ATVs, livestock, water and more.”
The Osceola County Ag Safety Day is open to youth ages 4 through 12. Each session will feature age-appropriate hands-on activities led by community partners who are experts in their field.
“In addition to their own safety, we also want to provide youth with the knowledge and experience to know what to do in case of an emergency,” Peters said. “That is why we will have additional sessions led by First Aid and Emergency Response Teams.”
Participation in the day-long camp is free to all youth thanks to the generous sponsorship of DuPont Pioneer. Each youth will receive a complimentary lunch, snacks and a T-Shirt.
Pre-registration is requested by Wednesday, Aug. 2 in order to plan adequately for food, sessions and materials. Parents may register their youth online at http://form.jotformpro.com/4Hregion1/osceola-ag-safety-day-2017 or by stopping into the ISU Extension and Outreach Osceola County Office located at 110 Cedar Lane in Sibley. Questions can be directed to Peters at 712-754-3648 or akpeters@iastate.edu.
“This event is really about pulling together the community, and preventing accidents before they happen,” Peters said. “I cannot thank DuPont Pioneer and our many other community members who are offering their assistance to make it happen. Our youth is our greatest resource, and we want to equip them with the knowledge and experiences they need to stay safe.”
— Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
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