Wessington Springs FFA Wins State Fair Farm Safety Quiz Bowl Championship

By Lura Roti for South Dakota Farmers Union

Wessington Springs FFA members win the South Dakota Farmers Union State Fair Farm Safety Quiz Bowl championship today, August 31 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.

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.

Because his team qualified for the championship, Platte-Geddes FFA member, Sutton Stluka said he thought about farm safety quite a bit as he worked on his family’s farm.

“I noticed myself taking the time as I worked to think about what I was doing, and if what I was doing could hurt me, and if it was dangerous, what I needed to do to prevent getting hurt,” explained Stluka, who raises cattle and Duroc Berkshire pigs. “I have so much stuff I want to get done and if I get hurt it puts me a long way behind.”

Canton FFA member, JJ Rupe can relate. “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.

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.