State Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles has proclaimed the week of Sept. 17-23 as Farm Safety and Health Week in Kentucky to call attention to the hazards unique to farming and encourage all Kentuckians to put safety first.
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture's Farm & Home Safety Program is collaborating with the FFA chapters in Carter and Russell counties to put on two "Pep Rallies for Life." The first event will be September 18 at 10amET at East Carter High School in Grayson for students from both county high schools - East Carter and West Carter. The second "Pep Rally" is set for Thursday, September 21, 2017, at 1pmCT, at Russell County High School2166 US-127 (campus address), Russell Springs, KY.
In each event, local emergency responders will conduct a rescue from a mock all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident in front of students at the high school football field. Victims will be flown from the scene on medical helicopters.
The number of fatalities in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting in Kentucky totaled 16 in 2016, according to the Kentucky Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program's annual report.