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Students watch what happens to a hay-filled dummy that gets caught up in a combine during Safety Day. Sarah Stultz'Albert Lea Tribune

United South Central students watch as a worker with Benco Electric Cooperative demonstrates how people should be safe around power lines. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune

Three FFA students give a presentation about lawn mower safety. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune

FFA students from USC taught the students at each station. At this station, they talked abut combine safety and what would happen if someone got caught up in a combine. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribun

Students watch a dummy get run over by a large piece of farm machinery Wednesday during Safety Day. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune

WELLS — United South Central and St. Casimir’s Catholic School students in kindergarten through eighth grade learned the importance of safety in various rural settings Wednesday at the annual Farm Safety program outside USC in Wells.

Led by USC FFA students and a few other professionals, the program gave safety demonstrations regarding power-take off safety, tractor run-overs and safety with combines, augers, lawnmowers, ATVs, flowing grain, fire and ambulance and electricity.

Kendal Harpestad, a senior and one of the FFA students who led one of the stations, said each area represented a different safety measure in a rural area and showed students what could happen if safety protocols weren’t followed.   

“We want people to be safe on the farm,” Harpestad said.

Most of the stations had a dummy filled with hay that illustrated to the students how a person could be injured or even killed.

“Especially living in a rural town, it’s important to know this,” said Macy Sonnek, another one of the FFA students.

Harpestad said the students were all engaged at the stations as they listened and then watched the demonstrations.

Dan Dylla, FFA adviser at USC, estimated that the Farm Safety Day had taken place for at least 30 years.

“Most kids aren’t aware of how dangerous this stuff is,” Dylla said.

While it teaches about the dangers in Minnesota to the students watching, the program also teaches leadership to the students who give the presentations, he said.

He recognized several area businesses who provided equipment to use for the day, including Kibble Equipment, Arnold’s of Alden, A&P Service Inc. in Wells, Schrader Enterprises in Wells, BENCO Electric Cooperative and Wells Ambulance and Fire Department.

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