LITTLE ROCK _ Arkansas Farm Bureau will be conducting tractor, all-terrain vehicle and farm equipment safety demonstration programs at four Arkansas high schools as part of Agriculture Safety Awareness Week, March 2-8.

 

Vocational agriculture students will participate in the programs scheduled for March 4 at Huntsville High School, March 5 at Booneville and Magazine high schools and March 6 at Centerpoint High School. The demonstrations are intended to raise the awareness of the need for producers to handle their equipment safely as they enter the spring planting season.

 

"Tractor rollovers and ATV accidents continue to be a leading cause of death and disabling injuries," says Jennifer Victory, Arkansas Farm Bureau safety coordinator, "and the unfortunate thing is the majority of them are preventable.

 

"We intend to demonstrate to these high school students how quickly these life-threatening accidents can occur, and how they can easily be prevented by operating tractors, bush hogs, ATV's and farm equipment responsibly."

 

The Farm Bureau Safety and Health Network is comprised of safety professionals affiliated with 29 state Farm Bureaus. Agriculture remains one of the nation's most dangerous occupations and the Agriculture Safety Awareness Program (ASAP) is designed to encourage farmers to slow down and take simple precautions when operating their farm equipment. This involves ensuring safety devices are in place that will protect them and members of their families from serious injury.

 

Additionally, Arkansas Farm Bureau and the state committee on Rural Health and Safety are sponsoring a statewide safety poster contest for elementary students.

 

This year's theme is "It's easier to bury a tradition than a child. Keep kids away from tractors." Posters should depict some element of safety involving farm equipment and chemicals, but may also include home, fire, ATV safety, etc.

 

There are two contests, one for students in grades 1 - 3, and another for grades 4 - 6. All entries must be submitted to Farm Bureau's state office by March 21. First-, second- and third-place winners in each category will receive $100, $75 and $50 respectively.