Growing Up on a Farm is Awesome as Long as Safety is a Priority

Growing up on a farm can be a great experience for children. ey grow up watching and working with their rst teachers – their parents –doing amazing things like turning miles of dirt into lush green elds of valuable crops and assisting farm animals as they give birth to another generation of genetically healthy o spring.

Farm kids aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and get dirty, and they know how to get things done. Modern agriculture involves a great deal of science and the use of technology, and today’s farm youth learns much more than most people realize. ey also learn so many critically important life skills such as cooperation, responsibility, persistence, accountability, attention to detail, patience, and the value of hard work, just to name a few.

As a parent educator, I applaud farm parents because they do one of the most important jobs every parent needs to do: they spend a lot of time with their children, teaching and mentoring them, and giving them opportunities to learn those life skills through concrete experiences. As they say, how does a child spell love? T-I-M-E.

On the ip side, not all time spent with your children is of equal value, and in some situations, there may be safety concerns that outweigh the bene ts of that time spent together. According to the 2022 US Childhood Agricultural Injuries Factsheet published by the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, each day about 33 children are injured in agricultural related accidents and every three days a child dies from an agricultural related incident. e largest percentage of youth deaths involved driving/riding on tractors and all-terrain vehicles (47%), followed by contact with agricultural machinery (20%), and violent contact with animals or other humans (13%). Further, it is estimated that as much as 88% of agriculture related injuries and illnesses are not captured in this data because there is no centralized reporting or data collection of agricultural related injuries and fatalities.

Another NYS study focused on the age of youth that were involved in agricultural related accidents. is study revealed that 35% of the youth who were injured or died were considered too young, according to the Agricultural Youth Work Guidelines, to be engaged in the agricultural related tasks that led to the accidents. In this study, the leading cause of injuries/death was tractor run-overs and tractor overturns, again highlighting the danger posed by tractors. Other injuries were related to loading haybales, eld work with towed implements, and feeding calves.

With these statistics in mind, farmer parents and grandparents must ask themselves if it is worth the risk to allow younger children to ride along on that tractor. How old should a child be before they are allowed to operate a tractor, gator, skid steer, or ATV alone? What other agricultural related activities may pose a risk to teens and younger children? We know that children and youths are curious, smart, and can be great helpers around the farm. But we also know that those same kids lack experience, and they can be at times inattentive and easily distracted, they like to show-o , and they believe they are invincible – these are all characteristics of youth that make them more likely to make the mistakes that result in injuries and death. Let’s make protecting our children and youths on farms this year a priority.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: https://cultivatesafety.org/ https://www.nycamh.org/programs-and-services/farm-safetytrainings.php

To contact DeAnna, email Parentingcce@cornell.edu e friendly cow all red and white, I love with all my heart: She gives me cream with all her might, To eat with apple-tart... And blown by all the winds that pass And wet with all the showers, She walks among the meadow grass And eats the meadow owers.

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Recognizing area businesses and individuals who support, participate or contribute to Agriculture in our area.

~Robert Louis Stevenson, " e Cow"

Agriculture is the greatest and fundamentally the most important of our industries. e cities are but the branches of the tree of national life, the roots of which go deeply into the land. We all ourish or decline with the farmer.

BERNARD BARUCH

The Health Benefits Of Dairy

What is dairy? Dairy products consist of a variety of products that are from mammals, including cows, goats and sheep. These include milk, yogurt, cheese, kefir, ice cream, butter, ghee, cream, cream cheese, sour cream, whey products, and casein. Dairy products are often categorized as “regular,” “whole,” “reduced fat,” “low-fat,” or “skim.” These characterizations indicate the fat content in a given item.

Edgewood Farms, 2023 Livingston County Farm of the Year e Phelps family has been in Groveland Station at Edgewood Farms since the 1870s. Current owner Craig Phelps’ great-great-grandfather owned a piece of land just north of the current farm and the farmstead grew from there. Craig’s father took over the farm from his great-grandfather, since his grandmother was a school teacher who never actively farmed.

Edgewood Farms of Groveland was named the 2023 Farm of the Year by the Livingston County Area Chamber of Commerce and Livingston County Farm Bureau based on its level of community activity, a proactive stance on agriculture and land stewardship, good business practices and integrity, and as an advocate for Livingston County agribusiness.

Edgewood Farms grows approx. 4500 acres of shelled corn, soybeans, wheat, dried edible beans, onions, grass hay, and straw. e Phelps family also leases out parts of their farm, working with other businesses across the state, bringing dried beans to Genesee Valley Bean company, Caledonia’s Callan Farms, and even sending corn and wheat to Rochester’s Black Button Distillery.

Craig has served on the Groveland Town Council for 20 years, serves on the Geneseo Central School Board, and serves on the Genesee Valley Conservancy Board. A long-time member, past president and board member of the Livingston County Farm Bureau and Livingston County Cornell Cooperative Extension, Craig received NY Farm Bureau’s Outstanding Young Farmer award in 1992, and Edgewood was named Livingston County Chamber of Commerce’s 1998 Agriculture Honoree.

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THE CHOSEN SERIES: braduns@yahoo.com

Small SUV or PICKUP needed for disabled veteran for transport to appointments and errands: bhaizlip@rochester.rr.com

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LAWN ROLLER and a GRASS CATCHER to pull behind my lawnmower.Text or call: 585-260-0437

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RASCAL SCOOTER in good working condition, scratches, and dents okay.

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To Your Good Health

By Keith Roach, M.D.