eduCaTIOn rink makes farm safety fun and ‘eggs-ucational’


—By amy Kraft PuBlic affairs indiana farm Bureau insurance


According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, farming is the fourth deadliest oc- cupation in America – and Indiana Farm Bureau Insur- ance has found a new way to remind farmers of these dangers. There are countless haz- ards on a farm, but many seem so innocuous that farmers do not even think about them. So, Jim Rink, director of Farm/Crop/Com- mercial/Rural, set out to teach farmers about these dangers at the Indiana Farm Bureau Inc. state convention in December.


“I kept thinking that we had to come up with a way to show these dangers,” Rink said. “I thought about my days on the farm, riding up hay bales, playing around the grain bin – every farmer does that.”


Rink came up with a plan for an interactive farm


display. After trips to Hobby Lobby, Rural King, the Trac- tor Supply Store and a toy train shop; committing a minor theft of his wife’s oven mitts, glue gun and hair dryer; and three days playing arts-and-crafts, Rink produced an amazing model of a working farm that is full of hazards. The resulting unit depicts


a working farm, complete with tractors, people, ani- mals and a river. Rink built 37 hazards into the model. At the convention, a contest was held to see who could find the most hazards. Three people found the 36 asked for (there was one extra-credit hazard), but two of them were over-achievers. “Two were veterinarians and they found 42 hazards,” Rink said. “They noticed some animal safety issues that I hadn’t thought about. A long-horn bull should not be fenced in with a horse.” Another draw to the


convention booth was the tractor safety demonstra-


7


Jim Rink (left) and Bob Knuckles (center), both of Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, explain the insurance company’s new safety program during the trade show at the 2010 IFB convention. Photo by Mindy Reef


The display, which Rink assembled from pieces he gathered from Hobby Lobby, Rural King, the Tractor Supply Store and a toy train shop, is a 1/64 scale model of a farmyard showing 36 farm hazards. Photo by Kathleen M. Dutro


tion. Rink and his team have two identical toy tractors, each one containing a raw egg but only one of these eggs has its seatbelt on. The demonstration consists of pushing both tractors off a “cliff,” which causes them to flip over. The unbelted egg that isn’t buckled in invari- ably goes kersplat while the buckled in egg remains whole, though slightly scrambled. “People thought the eggs were fake until one splat- tered all over the concrete,” insurance agent Dustin Schnarr said. “After the first one broke, I realized that Jim only invited me so that I could clean up the egg mess. But seriously, it was a very powerful dem- onstration. People were so surprised when the egg shat- tered, and it really drove home the importance of


farm safety.” At convention, they went through three dozen eggs in six hours. After convention, Rink tested the Farm Crop and Farm Underwriting depart- ments on the hazard model. He challenged them all to find as many hazards as they could. Farm underwriters searched the farm model and participated in a training session.


Rink has also been taking


the two demonstrations out on the road. Agents are ex- cited to have the display at their local county fairs, 4-H events and Ag Day events. If you are interested in hav- ing the displays in your area, contact Rink at jim.rink@ infarmbureau.com. Both farm safety dis-


plays stem from the fire extinguisher program that Indiana Farm Bureau Insur-


ance implemented in March 2010. The fire extinguisher program protects clients’ farm equipment and agricul- tural buildings from fire loss by providing and installing a 10-pound ABC fire extin- guisher for each farm. This benefit is free for clients, and the program has been incredibly successful. In fact, IFBI saved $2.8 million in fire claims just in 2010. The model is also current- ly on display at the Indiana Farm Bureau home office, and employees can also try to find the hazards and com- pete for a prize. Entries are due March 1.


Additional information on Indiana Farm Bureau Insur- ance’s farm safety program, including the fire extinguish- er program, is on the IFBI website, www.infarmbureau. com/Website/farm/Farm- Safety.aspx.


district winners announced for Farm bureau essay contest


—By mindy reef PuBlic relations team


Twenty Indiana eighth-


graders have been selected as finalists in the essay contest sponsored by Sen. Richard Lugar, Indiana Farm Bureau Inc. and Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance. A total of 1,011 students from 43 counties participated in this year’s contest. One boy and girl were


chosen from each of Indiana Farm Bureau’s 10 districts after winning at the county level. Two state winners – one boy and one girl – will be announced at the IFB Spring Conference, which will be held in Indianapolis on March 11 and 12. Each of the finalists wins a $50 U.S. Savings Bond while the state winners will also receive an all-expense-paid


www.infarmbureau.org


trip to Washington, D.C. “Agriculture: Then and


Now” is the theme for the youth essay contest, accord- ing to IFB 2nd


Vice President


Isabella Chism. Chism chairs the Women’s Lead- ership Committee, which is in charge of the annual contest. The contest began in


1985 and is designed to increase young Hoosiers’ awareness of the signifi- cance of Indiana agricul- ture, how it relates to the supply of food and fuel and to their health. The finalists are listed below. District 1: Gabrielle Carl-


son of Valparaiso, attends Victory Christian Academy, daughter of Jamie and Peter Carlson; Quinn McGovern of Winamac, attends Wi- namac Middle School, son of Michael and Cheryl Mc-


Govern. District 2: Katie Lopshire


of Angola, attends Angola Middle School, daughter of Greg and Denise Lopshire; William Joseph Rockey of Albion, attends Central Noble Middle School, son of Shannon and Elizabeth Rockey. District 3: Shelbi Perry of


Chalmers, attends Frontier Jr. High, daughter of Brian and Christi Perry; Dakota Burghardt of Monticello, attends Frontier Jr. High, son of Michel and Jason Burghardt. District 4: Rachel Girod


of Decatur, attends Bellmont Middle School, daughter of Howard J. and Deborah L. Girod; Nathan Chou of Ko- komo, attends Northwestern Middle School, son of Tom and Nellie Chou. District 5: Kiersten


Mundy of Poland, attends Cloverdale Middle School, daughter of Rebecca Mun- dy; Shane Slaven of Rock- ville, attends Rockville Jr/ Sr High School, son of Kyle and Jill Slaven. District 6: Katie Pfaff of


Lewisville, attends Tri Jr/Sr High School, daughter of Jeff and Sherri Pfaff; Max Keller of Indianapolis, at- tends Immaculate Heart of Mary, son of Dave and Jenny Keller. District 7: Easton Booe


of Centerpoint, attends Clay City Jr/Sr High School, son of Christopher and Christina Booe; Whitney Halfhill of Brazil, attends North Clay Middle School, daughter of Dennis and Marlene Half- hill. District 8: Josh Orschell


of Brookville, attends St. Michael School, son of Greg


February 14, 2011


and Mindy Orschell; Alexis J. Carmony of Falmouth, at- tends Connersville Middle School, daughter of Addam and Jill Carmony. District 9: Anna Hagedo-


rn of Ferdinand, attends For- est Park Jr./Sr. High School, daughter of Fred and Belle Ann Hagedorn; Collin Bow- lin of Jasper, attends Jasper Middle School, son of Barry and Bonnie Bowlin. District 10: Amber Moore


of Florence, attends Swit- zerland Co. Middle School, daughter of Bert Moore and Sandra Maples; Clayton Pottschmidt of Seymour, at- tends Immanuel Lutheran, son of Dale and Teresa Pott- schmidt.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12