Author: Gregory Drake
Planning Unit: Butler County CES
Major Program: Grain Crops
Plan of Work: Crop Production Systems
Outcome: Initial Outcome
Grain Crop Production is an important enterprise in Butler County. Agriculture is the county’s largest industry, and grain crops are our leading enterprise most years. Grain Farms tend to be large and getting larger. Grain storage facilities have increased in size as farming operations have increased infrastructure and capacity. Farm leadership in the community decided to secure “grain bin rescue equipment” for the fire departments and rescue squad. The Agriculture Program at the Butler County Extension Service facilitated a project to purchase equipment, get it in place with the volunteer fire departments, and provide training for the first responders that would be called on to perform a grain bin rescue. Funding for the program was secured from the Butler County Conservation District, Butler County Ag. Development Council, and Butler County Farm Bureau. $6,000 worth of equipment was purchased. The manufacturer provided a 50% discount on the grain bin tubes because they were for volunteer first responders. Dale Dobson from the Ky. Department of Agriculture served as advisor for the project and provided a hands on training for the first responders. Darren Rice and his family served as host for the training event. The Rice Farm has a group of grain bins typical of what would be found on many farms, and a large shop facility so everyone could gather comfortably to learn to use the equipment. The training meeting was held from 6:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. to accommodate as many volunteer first responders as possible. Butler County does not have a professional fire department or rescue squad. Butler County’s EMS director coordinated with the fire departments and rescue squad. Dale Dobson had advised the training would be more effective if farmers and responders were there together. Farmers that used grain bins were sent an invitation by the extension service. The presenter used demonstration equipment to show the dangers of grain storage facilities, first responders were able to perform a mock rescue in actual corn, and the presenter taught responders how to maneuver in grain. Many responders had not been in grain before. 54 people registered at the event. A paper survey was used to determine impact of the program. 45 surveys were returned. Initial outcomes of the program are as follows: 98% reported it was a good program and they got something useful from attending, 98% responded that they learned about grain bin safety, 100% believed the facilities were adequate for the topic being presented. One farmer in attendance reported that he “was going to buy a couple of harness and rope sets to use before entering a grain bin”. A farm wife reported being made aware of the need to find out how to respond if there was a grain bin rescue situation on her farm. Several attendees reported specific things they learned and increased awareness. All 5 volunteer fire departments and the rescue squad now have this equipment at their headquarters or on one of their trucks. 2 months after the program one first responder reported to me that his squad was going to practice deploying the rescue tube at their May 2019 training. Many of the attendees at the educational training were new to extension programming.
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