Ord – Generous Sponsors Provide Fun Learning Experience for Area Youth
ORD — A rainy day did not dampen the spirits as area youth returned to the Valley County Ag Complex for the annual Progressive Agriculture Farm Safety Day. Central NE Farm Safety 4 Just Kids hosted the event for 145 area youth on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Participants came from Garfield, Greeley, Howard, Loup, Sherman, Valley, Wheeler, and other Nebraska counties. Two officers of the Nebraska State Patrol greeted participants and family members as they arrived by asking if they wore their seat belts as they drove to the event. We were pleased that the results showed that 210 people wore their seatbelts versus 25 that did not, and all were treated to either “Smarties” or “DumDum” candy according to their response.
Coordinators for this year’s event were Kayla Hinrichs of NE Extension, Gene Wray, Michelle Zangger of Loup Basin Public Health and Bev Smedra of Lower Loup NRD/NRCS. Penny Root and other staff at the Central IV Extension offices have provided valuable clerical and scheduling help for many years. Loup Basin Public Health provided nurse, Amanda Jeffres to staff our first aid station. Alan Bartels of the Lower Loup NRD graciously took pictures throughout the day. This year we had 56 valuable volunteers from the community and local businesses to serve as group leaders, registration help, and provide other assistance throughout the day. Cargill, Inc. of Ord generously donated the registration fee for each child to attend free of charge and GreenAmerica Biofuels of Ord provided lunch for the children and volunteer helpers. Ord Grocery Kart and Speeds Apple Market provided snacks throughout the day.
Children who attended the Progressive Agriculture Farm Safety Day were treated to a fun day of learning how to prevent accidents, identify various emergency situations, and how to deal with injuries and stressful situations.
We were fortunate to have many qualified presenters give demonstrations this year, including: Tractor Safety with Ethan Clarks of AKRS and Seth Smedra from Titan Machinery; First Aid featuring Joy Setlik, Vickie Bredthauer and staff from the Ambulance; Emergency Preparedness was presented by Tracy Rademacher of CHI Health; Enhancing Self-Regulation with Hum Bugs by Riley Smith of the Wholeness Healing Center; ATV Safety with Aarron Yoder of UNMC and Seatbelt Safety from the Nebraska State Patrol.
Each child in attendance took home a Farm Safety T-shirt, a disaster bag and a “Goodie Bag” filled with many fun summer safety items donated by area businesses. Yearly memberships to the Central Nebraska Farm Safety 4 Just Kids Chapter (FS4JK) and extra donations have provided the funding to plan a top-quality safety day program every year since 1996. Local sponsors of the Farm Safety Day in Ord include: AK Creations Tack & Trailer Sales, Agland Electric & Irrigation, American Family Insurance/Justin Thompson Agency, Inc., Anderson Pharmacy, Arcadia American Legion Post #251, Bossen Livestock, Brehms Healthmart Pharmacy, Burwell Feeders, Burwell Livestock Market II LTD, Cabin Realty & Ag Services Inc., Central Area Insurance Inc. of Greeley, Channel Seed/Bloom Land & Cattle LLC, Christensen Insurance Agency, Citizen Bank & Trust Co. of St. Paul, Citizens State Bank of Spalding, Cornerstone Bank & Insurance of North Loup, Country Partners Coop, First Interstate Bank, First National Bank of Ord, First Nebraska Bank of Arcadia, Good Life Pharmacy, Gravel Creek Veterinary Service, Grint Farm Supply, Grow Venture Insurance, Henderson State Bank of Greeley, Highstreet Insurance, Hillbill’s Diesel Ag & Auto, Homestead Bank of St. Paul, Howard County Farm Bureau, Howard-Greely Rural Public Power District, Jeffres Sand & Gravel, Kruml Law Office, Kuszak Photography, L & D Crop Insurance, Lammers, Abel & Kaps, Little Country Daycare, Loop Agency & Realty, Loup City Animal Clinic, Loup Valley Dental, Loup Valleys Rural Public Power District, Maschka’s Building Center, Maverick Fertilizer, Ord Sports Chiropractic & Wellness, Ord VFW Auxiliary #7029, Peter’s Funeral Home, Petska Backhoe & Plumbing Inc., Piskorski Dental Clinic, Popcorn County USA, Grace Psota-Psota Enterprises, Rowse Hydraulic Rakes Co. Inc., Schneider’s Parts House, Shelly K. Boyce Family Therapy, Sikyta Law Office, Dan & Luella Spilinek, St. Paul Veterinary Clinic, State Bank of Scotia, Stowell, Geweke & Piskorski Law Office, Thoene Farm Service, Trotter Inc., Ulrich Gravel Inc., Union Bank & Trust of Taylor, Urbanovsky Well Service, Valley County Health System, Warner Body Shop, Wells Air Service Inc., Wray Insurance Agency, XtraORDinary Gymnastics and Zangger & Son Popcorn Hybrids.
This summer, safety days such as this are being held in many locations in the United States and Canada. Progressive Agriculture Safety Days are sponsored nationally by: AKE Safety Equipment, Alabama Power Foundation, Asmark Institute, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, BASF Corporation, Brandt Co./The Brandt Foundation, Bunge North America, Canadian Ag Safety Association, Cargill, Inc., CHS, Inc., CN Railway Company, Corteva, Deere & Company, Farm Credit Council, Deere & Company, Farm Credit Council, Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa, GROWMARK, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Krone North America, Inc. Kubota, Land O’Lakes Foundation, MacDon Industries, Ltd., National Shooting Sports Foundation, Nutrien, Polaris, Rabo Agrifinance, Rain & Hail LLC, Servisfirst Bank, Syngenta, The Andersons Inc., The Caring Foundation, The Wonderful Company, Unverferth Manufacturing Company, and Williams.
Plans are already underway for another Safety Day next year. Mark your calendars for early May to look for registrations available at your local schools and Extension Offices. Plan to send your children to next year’s Progressive Agriculture Safety Day on June 2, 2026. If you are interested in donating or providing help for the Safety Day, please contact Kayla at (308) 728-5071 or Bev at (308) 728-3244 X3.
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