By Courtney Urbanec, Reporter
Tractors, animals, flying backpacks, burning hot dogs . . . it’s Farm Safety Day! The Pender FFA Chapter held their 10th Annual Farm Safety Day on September 14th.

Farm Safety Day is a day to teach area elementary children about different dangers on the farm and how to be safe. Forty Pender FFA members and 10 Emerson-Hubbard FFA members led groups, assisted presenters, and gave presentations.

The day started with a mock emergency call to the Pender Fire and Rescue. The Pender Squad demonstrated how they would respond if someone fell off a combine and hurt their back. After a quick speech by Pender FFA President Matthew Smith, the day started with groups going to one of 10 sessions.

The sessions this year were farm animals, Bingo, chemical look-a-likes, living model farm, car rollover, ATV safety, lawn mower safety, electricity, combine safety, and farm chemical safety.

At the animal session, children learned about the different animals and also how to be safe around them. FFA members brought in their own animals for this session.

Joan Fillipi and Deb Burmester taught about chemical look-a-likes. The children learned that everyday household products looked like things that they would eat and that they shouldn’t use anything that wasn’t labeled.

The living model farm consisted of actual farm equipment that FFA members brought in. At each piece of machinery the kids learned what it was, what it did, and how to be safe around it.

Trooper Matt Parr of the Nebraska State Patrol did a car rollover demonstration. He placed two dummies and a backpack in a car and then spun it to represent a 30 mile per hour rollover. They showed what would happen when you wore your seatbelt and when you did not.

TSgt Jason Jones and SSgt John Swanson from the Nebraska Air National Guard Security Forces taught ATV safety. They drove an ATV through an obstacle course and up and down a hill. They taught what you should wear and how to be safe while driving an ATV.

At lawn mower safety the students were told how to properly mow and run their equipment. Curt Frey and Boyd Doyle from Nebraska Public Power gave an electrifying demonstration. They showed what would happen to you if you walked under a power line holding a metal rod and it hit the line. They also demonstrated other situations and ended by electrifying a hot dog.

Dean Carlson from Pender Implement taught the students about combine safety. The students were told about all the different moving parts and why they should stay away from them.

Larry Heese from CVA brought a floater and taught how to be safe with farm chemicals. The students then got to climb in the floater and see just how hard it was to see around you. They also got to dress in the proper safety gear.

The day ended with a PTO (Power Take-off) demonstration put on by Steve Burmester. He showed what would happen if you got caught in a moving PTO and shared stories he had heard.

A big thank you goes out to all the presenters, volunteers, and sponsors. Also to Mary Paeper, Pender Hospital, who spent numerous hours helping plan the day. Numerous sponsors contributed towards a complementary t-shirt for every student in attendance, to remind them to be safe on and off the farm.