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Newsworthy

An Agricultural Education - Farm safety course teaches proper tractor care, handling

BURLINGTON – Standing before 21 new pupils of his farm safety course, Don McMoran starts his instruction out on a serious, if not somber note.

“The reason I teach this course is because I lost a brother to a farming accident,” said McMoran, director of the Washington State University Skagit County Extension.

McMoran said when he was young, his 7-year-old brother was cutting grass along a dike when he drove off the edge and was fatally crushed by the mower.

“It’s been kind of my life’s mission to educate others about farm safety,” McMoran told the class in a presentation room at the extension’s office on Westar Lane in Burlington.

This spring’s 20-hour “Gearing Up For Safety” class is this fifth McMoran has taught on how to safely operate farm machinery like tractors and mowers, as well as how to protect against chemical and electricity hazards found on farms.

He said agriculture is the second most dangerous occupation in the United States, and that 23 percent of fatal farm accidents are caused by machinery.

The class is taught in two environments. Students stay indoors on Tuesdays to learn the different components on a tractor, pre-operational procedures, the basics of operating different machines, how to drive on public roads, first aid and more.

On Thursdays, the class takes to the parking lot behind the office and puts instruction to practice — identifying different parts, performing their pre-drive checks and maneuvering two-and four-wheel-drive tractors with different trailers and implements through a cone course.

Students have to pass a written exam, pre-operational checklist and driving test — where students slalom through cones and back a trailer in and out of a “barn” — before passing the class.

Melody Young, one of the adult students in the class, said she just started farming on Guemes Island.

“I’m kind of just beginning, just starting to farm, so I needed to learn how to use the equipment,” Young said.

Fred DeVries, owner of DeVries Dairy in Mount Vernon, enrolled his 11-year-old son, Rusty, and 14-year-old daughter, Leanna, to teach them how to operate and care for the tractors and four-wheelers.

“It’s just a great program. They teach them about safety, how to take care of tractors, how to use them,” DeVries said.

McMoran said his personal experience may help to impart the serious nature of the topic.

“Sure they can read out of a book that people can get hurt — but that doesn’t really connect with them. When they see their instructor become emotional, they can draw that line and connect with that,” McMoran said.

Thank you to BRIM Lynden Service Department technician Jason Bons for his training session with the FFA team.

WHATCOM – The local high school FFA programs were well represented among the 50,000-plus FFA members, advisors and guests who attended the 84th National FFA Convention held Oct. 19-22 in Indianapolis.

Two county teams placed fourth in the nation: Lynden Christian's Ag Mechanics Team and Mount Baker's Forestry team.

The LC Ag Mechanics team, coached by Gerrit P. Van Weerdhuizen and Kevin Berendsen, consisted of students Ryan Hamstra (11th high individual), Blake TeVelde (13th), Hunter Weinert and Kelby Stadt. – Lynden Tribune, Wednesday, November 9, 2011

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