AUGUST 2024:
Wessington Springs FFA members win the South Dakota Farmers Union State Fair Farm Safety Quiz Bowl championship Saturday (Aug. 31, 2024) during Farmers Union Day at the South Dakota State Fair.
“These teens understand the dangers associated with farm and ranch work and how to stay safe – keeping rural youth safe is the goal of this safety quiz bowl,” explained Doug Sombke, SDFU President and fourth-generation Conde farmer. “Most farm and ranch families have been impacted by an accident, so Farmers Union works to educate South Dakota youth so they can make safe decisions.”
Wessington Springs FFA Chapter team members are Addyson Orth, Mariah Messmer, Holden Jackson and Haiden Boschee. Wessington Springs FFA Chapter qualified for the State Fair Quiz Bowl Championships during the 2024 State FFA Convention. Other FFA teams to qualify were Canton FFA Chapter – team members are: Alyssa Richmond, Owen Gard, Jacob Rupe and Conley Winquist; Milbank FFA Chapter – team members are: Nicholas Fonder, Avery Vanoverbeke, Kaden Schweer and Landon Novy; Kimball FFA Chapter – team members are: Gunner Fuegen, Carter Konechne, Gavin Reindl and Joseph Gilbertz. The Platte-Geddes FFA Chapter had qualified for the finals, but the team wasn’t able to attend the fair, so they were replaced by the Kimball FFA Chapter, who had placed 5th during the qualifying contest in April 2024.
Due to the rural nature of South Dakota, all teens, whether they live on a farm or ranch or live in town should understand how to stay safe explained Brady Duxbury, the Agriculture Education Instructor and Wessington Springs FFA Advisor. “When you consider the fact that agriculture is the third most dangerous career, and the fact that most South Dakota teens will spend time on a farm or ranch, whether it is for a summer job, or they are visiting friends or relatives, so it is surprising to me how little farm safety training we do for our youth,” Duxbury said.
He added that because the quiz bowl is a competition, youth who participate actually spend time studying farm safety. “Teens are always looking for a way to test themselves and compete against their peers,” Duxbury said.
During the Quiz Bowl, teens are asked a series of safety questions related to operating heavy equipment, application of herbicides, driving all-terrain vehicles and working with livestock.
The Wessington Springs FFA Chapter team members received a cash reward. In addition to the Farm Safety Quiz Bowl, as a premiere sponsor of the South Dakota State Fair, South Dakota Farmers Union also promotes farm safety to thousands of fairgoers through their hands-on Farm Safety Trailer.
Farm safety is also a focus of the state’s largest agriculture organization’s camp programming that reaches hundreds of rural youth each year. To learn more about how Farmers Union supports rural youth and families, visit www.sdfu.org.
Kimball FFA Team Members compete in the South Dakota Farmers Union Farm Safety Quiz Bowl during the South Dakota State Fair. Team members are (left to right) Gunner Fuegen, Carter Konechne, Gavin Reindl and Joseph Gilbertz.
Courtesy photo.
Canton FFA Team Members compete in the South Dakota Farmers Union Farm Safety Quiz Bowl during the South Dakota State Fair. Team members are (left to right) Alyssa Richmond, Owen Gard, Jacob Rupe and Conley Winquist.
Courtesy photo.
Milbank FFA Team Members compete in the South Dakota Farmers Union Farm Safety Quiz Bowl during the South Dakota State Fair. Team members are (left to right) Nicholas Fonder, Avery Vanoverbeke, Kaden Schweer and Landon Novy.
Courtesy photo.
APRIL 2024:
Farm Safety FFA teams from Canton, Milbank, Platte-Geddes and Wessington Springs qualified during the FFA State Convention for the 2024 South Dakota Farmers Union Farm Safety Quiz Bowl Championship.
Held August 31, 2024, during Farmers Union Day at the South Dakota State Fair, the state’s largest agriculture organization holds the annual competition to keep farm safety top of mind for teens.
“Most farm and ranch families have been impacted by an accident. Farmers Union works to educate South Dakota youth so they can make safe decisions,” explained Doug Sombke, SDFU President and fourth-generation Conde farmer.
Due to the rural nature of the state, Platte-Geddes FFA Advisor Cayla Graves said farm safety education is important for all youth. “Because we live in a very ag-based community, whether they live on a farm or not, most youth spend time on farms or ranches – maybe they work for a farmer or they visit a friend’s farm.”
Graves said because of its design, Farmers Union Team Up for Safety Quiz Bowl is a great way for students to learn more about farm safety. “Kids are competitive,” Graves explained. “Anytime you add that element of competition in, they seem to buy-in more.”
Canton FFA member, JJ Rupe agreed. “The contest made me think about some new aspects of farm safety – like weight limits of an ATV,” said Rupe, who will be a senior fall 2024.
Rupe grew up working on his grandparents’ farm and said most of what he knows about farm safety he learned from his Grandpa Denny. “My grandpa got his hand caught in a combine. After that he got really big into farm safety and telling us what we need to do to be safe.”
The accident happened when Rupe’s mom, Laurie was a teen. Fortunately, doctors were able to save Denny’s hand.
Like Rupe, Sutton Sluka grew up hearing about farm safety because the Platte-Geddes FFA member’s uncle lost a finger in a farm accident. Sluka’s uncle was a teen when the accident happened. “My dad is always preaching about farm safety. Between PTOs, chains, belts, grain bins and cattle, my dad reminds me that it only takes a second for an accident to happen, so I need to always be aware.”
Stluka said although he already knew quite a bit about farm safety before the quiz bowl, he did gain additional safety knowledge during the event. “If you miss a question and the other team gets it right, you learn from their answer. So, we were not only competing, but also learning.”
The 2024 State Convention was the second time Avery VanOverbeke and his teammates competed in the Quiz Bowl. In 2023 they did not qualify for the State Fair Championship. The high school senior said qualifying for the championship means a lot to him and his three friends.
“State Fair Quiz Bowl will be a good opportunity for us to unite and see each other again, because we are going all over for college after high school,” VanOverbeke said of the friends he grew up with since kindergarten.
In addition to FFA, he and another teammate are also Eagle Scouts. “As an Eagle Scout, we believe everyone should know First Aid because you never know when an emergency will happen, and you may be the person who needs to act.”
With summer break just weeks away, Wessington Springs FFA member Mariah Messmer, said she will be busy working on her family’s farm, but she does plan to make time to study up a bit ahead of the competition. “I will take some farm safety quizlets,” Messmer said. “Farm safety is something I will be thinking about more now that I know I will be competing. And really everyone should think about it because in the future not everyone goes back to their farm, but you could use your farm safety knowledge to help out in any situation whether you live on farm or not.”
Teams qualifying for the State Fair Championship Farm Safety Quiz Bowl and their members are:
- Platte-Geddes FFA Chapter – Sutton Stluka, Garret Varilek, Harper Kirsch and Hannah Kirsch;
- Canton FFA – Jacob “JJ” Rupe, Conley Winquist, Owen Gard and Alyssa Richmond;
- Wessington Springs FFA Chapter – Holden Jackson, Haiden Boschee, Mariah Messmer and Addyson Orth;
- Milbank FFA Chapter – Landon Novy, Avery VanOverbeke, Kaden Schweer and Nick Fonder.
Platte-Geddes FFA Quiz Bowl Team – (left to right) Sutton Stluka, Garret Varilek, Harper Kirsch and Hannah Kirsch.
Courtesy photo.
Wessington Springs FFA Quiz Bowl Team – (back row) Addyson Orth and Holden Jackson; (front row) Mariah Messmer and Haiden Boschee.
Courtesy photo.
Canton FFA Quiz Bowl Team – (back row)Conley Winquist and JJ Rupe (front row) Owen Gard and Alyssa Richmond.
Courtesy photo.
Milbank FFA Quiz Bowl Team – (back row) Landon Novy, Avery VanOverbeke, (front row) Kaden Schweer and Nick Fonder.
Courtesy photo.
To learn more about how South Dakota Farmers Union educates rural youth, visit www.sdfu.org.
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