According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agriculture/forestry/fishing (AFF) industries experience the highest rates of work-related fatalities in the United States--24.9 fatalities per 100,000 workers per year (USDOL-CFOI, 2014), as well as high rates of nonfatal injuries--15.5 per 100,000 workers per year (BLS, 2014). With this information, the Clark County Agents wanted to place agriculture safety as an educational priority. The Clark County Agents were approached by a local Family Resource Coordinator who had conducted a survey of parents at the Intermediate School in Clark County. This survey determined that personal safety and safety education were a concern to many parents. On September 15^th, 2023 the Clark County Extension Agents hosted a Progressive Ag Safety Day at Baker Intermediate School to address some of the specific safety concerns that parents had on the survey, and more. This program for approximately 400 6^th grades students, brought awareness to 14 different safety topics. Areas of safety that were covered included:

1. Lawn equipment safety
2. Animal safety
3. Sun safety
4. First aid
5. Fire safety
6. Roadway safety
7. Food safety
8. Healthy lifestyles & stress management
9. Home alone safety
10. Electrical safety
11. Water safety
12. Firework safety
13. ATV safety
14. Chemical safety 

The Clark County Extension Service partnered with several local organizations and businesses to teach rotations and assist with the program which included Baker Intermediate Family Resource Coordinator - Casey Davis,  Kentucky Fish & Wildlife, Winchester EMS, Winchester Fire Department, Clark County Sheriff’s Department, Clark Energy Cooperative, Clark Regional Hospital, Clark County Health Department, Mercer County Extension Agent, Winchester Police Department, and Clark County 4-H Teen Council. 

At the conclusion of the program 100% of the students reported that they had learned something new about being safe. Some student responses included:

“I had no idea that there was a proper way to use a gas can when filling up a mower.” 

“I had not thought about how dangerous mixing chemicals could be and how chemicals can look like other things I have in my house.” 

“Thank you for teaching me to always wear sunscreen. It was very cool to see how the sun can hurt my skin.”