(rdnewsNOW/ Ian Gustafson)

By Ian Gustafson

Over 300 Lacombe County students attend Farm Safety Day

Jun 11, 2025 | 4:53 PM

Approximately 320 Grade 5 students learned about the importance of safety at the annual Lacombe County Farm Safety Day on Wednesday.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., students from 11 different schools within the county rotated through seven different safety presentations about being safe on the farm.

Lacombe County Reeve Barb Shepherd said most of the citizens of the county are either farmers or have farm related businesses.

That makes this event a necessity for the younger generation growing up on farms.

“Children live on or visit farms, which is a wonderful place to be, but there’s also some hazards and dangers that are important for us to highlight,” Shepherd said.

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“Sometimes I think their parents can point those things out to them but if they do it in an educational environment with their friends from school it may have a different impact.”

The event was first put on nine years ago because the county had heard more and more news about farming incidents involving kids that resulted in fatalities or injuries.

“Kids sometimes don’t realize some of the dangers that are out there,” Shepherd added. “This is our ninth year and it’s been so well received by the rural schools within the county that we’ll be doing this for the forseeable future.”

(rdnewsNOW/ Ian Gustafson)

Lacombe County agriculture coordinator Jalene Makus, who’s also the event organizer, explained they came up with the idea for the event because they felt there was a hole in the education system to teach kids how to be safe on the farm.

“We have a few staples that we keep every year because they’re a hit with the kids, one being grain safety. We have a grain display where we actually show a little person falling through a grain bin and how it’s hard to pull them out,” Makus said.

“We also have large garbage cans filled with grain with ropes and we actually get the kids to physically try to pull the rope up, which shows people aren’t strong enough to pull you out of grain once you’re in there.”

The following safety presentations were presented to the students:

• Fire Safety – Bentley Fire Department
• ATV Safety – Steve Rees (Lacombe County)
• Grain Safety – Jim Davenport (Clive Seed Cleaning Plant)
• Mowing Safety – Gillian Dreger (Lacombe County)
• Heavy Equipment/Blindspot Safety – T.J. McTrowe (Lacombe County)
• Post Pounder Safety – Tyson McDonagh (Lacombe County)
• Chemical Safety – Co-op Agriscience

She explained they picked Grade 5 students because that’s the age where they’re starting to get more independent. They also tailor it to their curriculum as well.

“We try to make it as fun as possible. Kids learn through fun and interaction so if they’re having fun they’re going to retain it. Hopefully they’ll tell their friends and parents about it and spread the word that way,” Makus said. “I’ve ran into kids years after the event and they remember how fun it was.”