Farmer’s receive “Stay Safe, Take a Break” bags

During the harvest season farmers spend long, hard hours working with dangerous equipment to harvest the crops. Volunteers from Washington County 4-H have prepared and will start delivering 'Stay Safe, Take a Break” bags to 200 farmers throughout Washington County since the busy harvest has begun.

4-H County Council members stuffed these reusable bags through a giant assembly line. The bags included: safety literature, granola bars, bottled water, safety glasses, koozies, note pads, sharpies, emergency contact signs, gloves, first aid kit, ear plugs, flash lights, WD-40, rain-x, shop towels, stocking hats, reflectors, and cotter pins.

These bags are a way for farmers to be reminded to stay safe throughout this busy time of year by refueling and resting, but were also made to show appreciation to the farmers throughout Washington County. This has become an annual project for the 4-H County Council youth in Washington County. 4-H parent Marty Van Roekel remembers when his children were a part of the project and said,

'Probably the best/most memorable activity my oldest two children had in 4 H was a day they spent driving the countryside delivering the bags to farmers in the field!”

These bags were made possible by several many community sponsors. Thank you to all the volunteers are delivering these bags and encouraging with the farmers as the harvest season unfolds.

For more information on how to keep farms safe, contact Washington County Extension & Outreach at 319-653-4811 or www.extension.iastate.edu/washington/