Thunderstorm Safety

AGCO is a proud sponsor of the Progressive Agriculture Foundation’s (PAF) Safety Day® program, including their website, http://www.progressiveag.org (see previous post). PAF’s mission is to provide education and training to make farm, ranch and rural life safer and healthier for children and their communities. AGCO will be posting a series of mini-quizzes from PAF filled with facts on how you and your family can stay safe on the farm.

Attend a Safety Day near you!

The first mini-quiz topic is how to stay safe during thunderstorms; one of nature’s most unpredictable and violent occurrences. Knowing what to do in the event of a thunderstorm — no matter where you are — can make all the difference when every second counts. Quiz 1:

Question: Lightening occurs only where it is raining? True or False?

Answer: False. Contrary to popular belief, lightening often strikes areas outside of heavy rain and can occur as far as 10 miles away from any rainfall. Many people also believe that “heat lightening” after a very hot summer day poses no threat. In reality, “heat lightening” is from a storm too far away for the thunder to be heard and it could be moving in your direction.

Most deaths due to lightening happen outdoors. Make sure all family members know what to do if caught outside during a thunderstorm. Here are some quick tips:

• In an open field: find a low spot, away from trees, fences and poles.
• If you are in the woods: take shelter under shorter trees.
• If you have no shelter:  make yourself the smallest target by squatting low to the ground on the balls of your feet.
• Minimize contact with the ground and place your hands on your knees with your head between them when your skin tingles or your hair stands on end.
• If you are in a tractor or other vehicle, stay put, with your hands in your lap. Vehicles can provide better protection than lying exposed in open fields.

This farm safety tip is provided by the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day^® program.  For information on how you can keep your child safe and healthy on the farm, ranch and at home, visit www.progressiveag.org. To see a complete list of Progressive Agriculture Safety Days taking place in 2011, visit http://www.progressiveag.org/content/view/22/15/.

Have you discussed with your children what to do if there’s a thunderstorm?