Our Successes
The Progressive Agriculture Foundation has a strong commitment to providing a quality educational program. To ensure that the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day™ is of the highest quality and effectiveness, a rigorous evaluation of the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day™ (then known as the Progressive Farmer Farm Safety Day Camp® program) was conducted by the University of Alabama Institute for Social Science Research. This evaluation was funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Results analyzed to this point show a significant increase in knowledge and safe behaviors for the camp participants on the three-month and one-year follow-up interviews in comparison to the pre-test responses. An analysis of knowledge scores for each age group in the sample shows that the effect is similar regardless of age.
Furthermore, three months after the camp, half the parents report there has been some safety-related change in their child’s behavior. It appears that camp participation does have an effect on safety awareness and behavior in children. However, additional data from non-campers are needed to complete this study, and replications of this study are necessary, before determining with greater certainty how much impact this one-time educational intervention has.
The data also indicate that the indirect benefits of a farm safety camp in a community include enhanced safety awareness of the wider community as children and adult volunteers disseminate the information they learned, as well as enhanced community strength and cohesiveness resulting from the cooperation of many individuals and organizations in achieving a common goal.
Results analyzed to this point show a significant increase in knowledge and safe behaviors for the camp participants on the three-month and one-year follow-up interviews in comparison to the pre-test responses. An analysis of knowledge scores for each age group in the sample shows that the effect is similar regardless of age.
Furthermore, three months after the camp, half the parents report there has been some safety-related change in their child’s behavior. It appears that camp participation does have an effect on safety awareness and behavior in children. However, additional data from non-campers are needed to complete this study, and replications of this study are necessary, before determining with greater certainty how much impact this one-time educational intervention has.
The data also indicate that the indirect benefits of a farm safety camp in a community include enhanced safety awareness of the wider community as children and adult volunteers disseminate the information they learned, as well as enhanced community strength and cohesiveness resulting from the cooperation of many individuals and organizations in achieving a common goal.
What the participants, volunteers, and those who know them report also gives us valuable feedback on the success of the program. (Note – Progressive Farmer Farm Safety Day Camps® and Progressive Farmer (as they are used here) all refer to the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day™ program).
Words from the Participants Themselves
“This is my 5th year going to camp and I enjoy it every time. One of my favorite classes was the farm equipment station. I learned that if you wear “baggy” clothes, that you can get caught in equipment and it can pull you in and kill you. I look forward to camp every year. Thank you for sponsoring us!!!!” —Participant, Plymouth, NC
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Words from the Parents of Participants
“My husband farms – his birthday was right after the camp—and for his birthday they gave him goggles, dust masks and chemical-resistant gloves. [These were] all the things they learned about at the camp, and they also explained to him why he needed to use them. —Parent and Volunteer, Munday, TX
“As a result of camp, ‘we’re getting a fire extinguisher!’ After last year -- my children have never been back on the tractor with my husband.” —Parent, Natchez, MS
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“As a result of camp, ‘we’re getting a fire extinguisher!’ After last year -- my children have never been back on the tractor with my husband.” —Parent, Natchez, MS
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Words from the Volunteer Coordinators
“A 15-year-old, from Shelton, NE credits what he learned at a 1998 Progressive Farmer Farm Safety Day Camp® with saving his life in the summer of 2004. He was operating tractor with a four-row ridger in a cornfield near his home when the ridger struck a power pole, causing power lines to fall on the tractor. This young man did what he learned at camp – he called for help on his cell phone and stayed inside the tractor cab until the power company arrived and turned off the power to the lines.” —Safety Day Coordinator, Wood River, NE.
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Words from the Adult Volunteers and Others
Many times we think that the safety message may be lost due to the language barrier. However, the students continue to share their experiences in and around the camps where they are applying the safety lessons that they have learned at safety camp. After one of the housing units caught fire, the students discussed the incident – what caused it, treatment for burns, and what to do if their own unit caught fire. Not only did they ask the right questions, but they also came up with the answers themselves. They were able to use information from a variety of farm safety day camp presenters to get the answers. The students then wrote a fire prevention plan for their personal housing unit; conducted a safety check of their unit. They were asked to tell their parents about fire prevention. —Lead Teacher, State Migrant Education Program, Beaufort, SC
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Secrets to the Program's Success
The secret to the success of the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day™ is in the dedication of all the volunteers and sponsors who support the program. Not only do these remarkable individuals, businesses and organizations serve in their volunteer roles with the program, but they also share with excitement what they learn by being part of the program. As they share, the body of knowledge on the best ways of teaching farm safety and health grows. The result – this shared knowledge is used to improve the overall program.Some of the many people, businesses and organizations who add to the success of the Progressive Agriculture Farm Safety Day™ program include:
- Progressive Agriculture Foundation sponsors and contributors
- Local volunteer Progressive Agriculture Safety Day™ coordinators
- Local volunteer instructors, group leaders, and all the others needed to conduct a safety day
- Local sponsors and contributors
- Farm safety professionals who support the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day™ program by writing and reviewing safety chapters in the program manuals; being guest speakers at safety days; providing resources for safety days, and telling potential coordinators about the program