Ag safety will be among topics highlighted at the upcoming Delaware Ag Week event held at the Delaware State Fairgrounds Monday, Jan. 8 through Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024
In partnership with the Delaware Office of Highway Safety and Delaware Association of Chiefs of Police, the Delaware Farm Bureau will offer a presentation on rural road safety for farmers during Ag Week to help keep safety in the forefront for attendees.
This presentation is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 9 from 6-8 p.m. in the Exhibit Hall at the Delaware State Fairgrounds.
“It’s safe to say when we get into our daily farming routines, we start to let things slide because we might think, ‘It will never happen to me,’ or ‘I do this all the time, I’m fine.’ We might start skipping a necessary step or two in hopes of saving some time,” DEFB Executive Director Don Clifton said. “But the reality is that every step we take to ensure the safety of ourselves, our workers, and our community is an important one. We have to make the conscious decision to take the time to be safe.”
Rural road safety is just one safety issue the Delaware Farm Bureau brings to farmers throughout the year, but Clifton said it’s crucial to keep in mind for farmers and consumers alike.
In recent years, the Delaware Farm Bureau’s Promotion and Education Committee successfully advocated for the inclusion of rural road safety topics in the state driver’s education manual and test so new drivers have a better understanding of what might meet them on rural roads in the First State. This includes the use of the slow moving vehicle emblem and what to do if a driver encounters a farm vehicle while on the road. The committee also created a brochure on the topic which is displayed at all Department of Motor Vehicle locations in Delaware.
“We need to continually bring these topics up to farmers and the public because they are just that important. When we stop talking or hearing about it, it slips from our minds easier and we don’t want to see that happen. I’m proud to say that we’re partnering with the Department of Transportation for this presentation on rural road safety during Delaware Ag Week. It’s important to us that we partner with the right agencies when the time is right so we can provide a powerful voice for our farmers and consumers,” Clifton said.
Other sessions during Ag Week include woodland management, beekeeping, block grants, risk management, agronomy, nutrient management modeling, pesticide credits and more.
Ag Week is crafted by the Delaware Department of Agriculture, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension and Delaware State University Cooperative Extension. For more information on Ag Week offerings, visit https://sites.udel.edu/delawareagweek/. For more information on the Delaware Farm Bureau, visit www.defb.org.
