The Russell County landscape is home to an assortment of terrains.  The county is home to farmland, woodlands, streams, rivers, and a large lake.  Russell County Extension Office held its annual Progressive Farm Safety Day in conjunction with the Progressive Ag Foundation and hosted approximately 220, 3^rd-grade students from the county.  The Farm Safety Day was also attended by approximately 40 teachers, and community volunteers to help make the day a success.

This year at the safety day we were able to get representatives from multiple local first respondents, as well as representatives from many local businesses and state-wide agencies.  As most Russell County students may encounter various circumstances while living on or visiting a farm, the Extension Office tried to bring in a variety of different educational stations to prepare students for emergency or safety situations they may face. Educational booths for this year at the Farm Safety Day were as follows: Gun Safety, ATV Safety, PTO Safety, Lawn Mower Safety, Sun Safety, Basic First-Aid, Wild Animal Safety, Chemical Safety, Fire Safety, and Boat/Water Safety.

Farm Safety doesn't just involve tractors, trucks, livestock, and lawn equipment. Students could come into contact with firearms, illegal drug labs, wild animals, chemicals, fire, or an emergency that involves the need for basic First Aid in their daily life.  The Family and Consumer Science Agent operated the Sun Safety educational booth and taught about the harmful effects of the sun and prevention measures that can be used at home or on the farm. Students were asked to spin a Sun Safety wheel to test their knowledge of sun safety facts. 100% of questioned students stated they learned new information about sun safety.

Once Farm Safety Day was complete, students were asked to write a 1/2-page letter explaining which station was their favorite and to describe one new thing that they learned from the experience.  Once responses were compiled, 90% of students responded that they had learned a new safety skill that they thought would help them be safer.  Additionally, volunteers for the educational stations were surveyed, and 100% of volunteers stated they wish to teach at Farm Safety Day again. 93% of volunteers felt that the lesson that they taught would help to make the community a safer place, and 7% of the surveyed felt their lesson would help make for a more limitedly safer community.