By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the last 14 years there have been 2,174 farm deaths in the nation among those 19 and younger. In an attempt to bring attention to hazards found on the farm, The Ohio State University extension’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program has been sponsoring Farm Safety Day Camps throughout the state.
“There is a need to educate youth on the hazards they might encounter both on and off the farm,” said Kathy Henwood, a day camp program assistant. “They are not only spending time at their house, but visiting friends’ homes and going over to their grandparents’ house or visiting their aunt or uncle.”

Farm safety day camps provide youth the opportunity to learn about hazards and injury prevention in a fun, hands-on and interactive way. The mission of the camp program is to teach youth about rural dangers.

And while the program targets those living on the farm, the camps also benefit non-farm children. Whether the danger looms from a manure pit, a dangerous auger, a silo or an ATV, the camps will help officials warn children of hidden dangers lurking on rural property.

To date approximately 16,500 Ohio youth have attended these sessions. Putnam County has participated in the program for 10 straight years, with more than 5,000 students attending over that period. Putnam County held its day camp April 14-15.
Upcoming camps will be held at Wood County (April 23), Fulton County (May 21), Licking County (June 26) and Monroe County (September or October).

In Iowa the lecture about farm safety is similar, only the message is taken directly to the classroom. Farm Safety 4 Just Kids (FS4JK) is a nonprofit organization based in Urbandale, with chapters in 29 states and four Canadian provinces. FS4JK provides resources and training to individuals and communities to conduct farm safety awareness and education programs.

“We have a volunteer chapter network and we have several active chapters in the Farm World readership area,” said Keely Pearson, FS4JK marketing and community relations director. “And we address a lot of issues, like chemicals, ATVs, animals, drugs and even gun safety.”

FS4JK has eight chapters in Ohio, six in Indiana, 14 in Illinois, one in Michigan, two in Kentucky and three in Tennessee.

“Rural injuries can occur to anyone, not just farm kids,” said Dee Jepsen, OSU extension’s state safety leader. “Learning about the hazards is one step to reducing injuries to anyone who lives on or visits the farm.”