Farming is one of the nation’s most dangerous jobs, especially for farm children. This is National Farm Safety and Health Week. Marilyn Adams, founder and president of Iowa-based Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, is urging Iowa farmers to keep the kids in the front, not the back, of their minds as harvest time begins. The goal is to raise awareness and remind people it’s a dangerous time of year and remember to make kids a top priority. Adams lost her 11-year-old son, Keith, in a grain wagon accident 18 years ago — and she later founded the advocacy group. She says farmers sometimes forget some jobs are too big for a young person to handle. The grain is very dangerous and you don’t want a pre-teen working with unloading grain unsupervised. There are items like the power take off, the auger, the wagon, the grain itself, that can get a kid into trouble — even with supervision. Adams says farming is among America’s most dangerous professions. It’s up there with mining and construction, but farming is the only profession where the children live, work and play right in the workplace, unlike the other hazardous jobs. A farm safety rally and workshop is planned for Wednesday in Iowa City. For more information, call 800-423-5437 or surf to “www.fs4jk.org”.
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