UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Visitors to the Farm Safety Demonstration Area at Penn State's 2017 Ag Progress Days can learn how to reduce the risk of childhood injuries due to falls from hay holes and runover incidents involving skid steers.
Aimed at both youths and adults, 30-minute hay hole and skid steer blind spot demonstrations will take place at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 15-17.
"Youth fatalities and injuries continue to occur on Pennsylvania's farms," said Douglas Schaufler, research associate in agricultural and biological engineering and coordinator of the farm safety area. "We will be demonstrating equipment that increases machinery operator visibility and a new offering that protects children from falling through a hay hole."
Attendees can get information about several types of farm safety programs and agricultural emergency response resources from onsite specialists all three days.
Visitors to the Rural Health and Safety Tent, at the end of West 6th Street adjacent to the farm safety area, will be able to take advantage of a variety of health screenings and presentations each day. Free vision tests will be offered from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and free blood pressure readings will be taken from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Also, free stroke assessments will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Pesticide applicators can earn one core pesticide credit by attending a 30-minute presentation about personal protective equipment, which will be conducted by a rural health farm worker protection safety specialist, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily. In addition, visitors to the tent can receive information provided by AgrAbility, Centre HomeCare, New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health, Mount Nittany Health, North Central Sight Services, and the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health.
Sponsored by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, Ag Progress Days is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, 9 miles southwest of State College on Route 45. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 15; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 16; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 17. Admission and parking are free.
For more information, visit the Ag Progress Days website at http://apd.psu.edu. Twitter users can find and share information about the event by using the hashtag #agprogressdays, and Facebook users can find the event at https://www.facebook.com/AgProgressDays.