LaCrosse County Farm Accident Rescue Training Evaluation Summary
Situation/Response: On August 21, 2010 a Farm Accident Rescue Training was held at the Greg Jenniges Farm,
Mindoro WI. This training was promoted to La Crosse area firefighters, first responders and EMS workers. While
initially limited to 75 participants as word of the training spread the actual attendance number increased to more
than 100 participants. Reinforcing the need for this type of training was the distance participants traveled as
responders came from River Falls, Fond du Lac, Green Lake WI and Minnesota.
Mike Hesse, Farmington Emergency Medical Team Inc, was the lead coordinator and a main factor in the success
of this program. He used his connections in the emergency rescue and agricultural communities to arrange session
instructors and for the use of specialized equipment to enhance the quality of training provided. Steve Huntzicker,
UW Extension LaCrosse County provided leadership in program coordination including involvement from UW
Center for Agricultural Safety and Health; development and dissemination of marketing materials and program
evaluation. Individuals from the UW Center for Agriculture Safety and Health, along with Steve Huntzicker also
served as trainers for the event. Cheryl Skjolaas, UW Extension Agricultural Safety and Health Specialist was a key
partner in organizing and helping to host the event.
A key factor in the success of this training was the location – an actual farm. Greg and Julie Jenniges provided use
of their farm and facilities. While the training was focused on rural emergency responders, many of these
individuals have limited or no familiarity with farm operations.
Participants were offered nine sessions but in due to time limitations of the day were only able to attend six
sessions. Since participants hadn’t registered for sessions, they were assigned their first session and then selected
sessions based on their interest.
Evaluation Results: A written survey was sent to 86 participants after the training via US mail. 25 completed
surveys were returned for a response rate of close to 30%.
5 respondents indicated that they had attended a farm rescue training in the past and 20 indicated that they had
not previously attended training.
Participants were asked to indicate their degree of understanding of the session topics before the training and
after the training on a scale of 1-4 with 1= very little; 2 some; 3 quite a bit and 4 a lot.
Topic
Understanding Grain Structures
Corn head entanglement
Issues Unique to the Farm
Building Cofferdam
Ropes and Rigging from a Grain
Structure
Stabilizing and Lifting a Tractor
Impalement
Auger Entanglement
Animal Movement
Number of
Respondents
out of 25
24
20
23
23
20
Before
Training
(Average
Response)
1.42
1.55
1.65
1.86
1.65
24
21
23
21
2.38
2.24
1.57
2.28
After
Difference
Training
(Average
Response)
3.45
2.03
3.30
1.75
3.30
1.65
3.35
1.49
2.85
1.20
3.33
3.1
2.39
2.95
.95
.86
.82
.67
1
Extrication from cab
21
2.24
2.81
.57
Participants were asked “What did you gain from this training?” and allowed to check all that apply for
the following items:
What did you gain from this training?
Techniques/practices I can try immediately
Potential training topics for my department
Answers to my questions
Resource materials that I can use
Names of other people to contact
Nothing new
Anything else
Number Responding (25 Respondents)
19
17
16
16
9
0
Wonderful exercise; Exposure to emergency
situations I have not experienced yet
Respondents were asked “How do you plan to use the information from the training?”
Seven respondents indicated plans to use the training information with local training to their
departments or units. Two of the seven indicated an interest in planning a similar training in
their area in the next year. The next common response by five respondents was that they would
use it in their response to farm or rural calls. One respondent indicated working for a local grain
elevator in addition to being a first responder and would be able to share the information on
visits to grain facilities. Additional comments were “We live on a very rural area and all of these
stations were very helpful on area we don’t always have training on.” “I gained a lot of info from
all the stations. Great training. Well organized”
A final question asking respondents if they had any suggestions for future training topics was offered.
Topics identified included:

Management from EMS side, more management of injuries, treatment and triage (2)

Lowering victim from silo or grain bin

Using ICS/unities command at farm incidents

Overview of all the types of machinery that are used on farms

Confined entry 2

Tractor rollovers again

Grain bin extractions again-more scenarios

Tractor trailer roll over w/animals, cows/horses
2

Treatment within milking parlor
Two respondents noted interest in having more of these types of trainings. It was noted by one
respondent that there should be more time per station. Two respondents provided words of thanks.
“Thank you for all your hard work. This training day was a major under taking and well worth
participating in. Thanks again.”
Conclusion: There is great interest and need by rural emergency responders in the area of farm rescue
training. While hosting training on a farm takes additional planning and extensive resources, the actual
experience training with farm structures and machinery adds to the learning experience. There was a
positive increase in knowledge for every session offered. 4 of the 5 sessions with a positive change of
greater than 1 were related to grain harvest and handling. Grain handling and storage rescues is a
significant topic as it involves complex technical rescue issues in an environment that most rural rescue
departments do not have the expertise or equipment to handle.
Most rural rescue departments are volunteer departments with limited funding. As indicated in the
question on “What did you gain from this training?” most respondents will be able to use training
immediately in their work and that they would conduct training in their departments. Departments’
incorporating this training into their training schedules prepares a department for handling agricultural
emergencies and also is a cost effective means of disseminating training out into the rural areas.
Media coverage of this training has created additional interest in other areas of the state for 2011
programming. UW Center for Agricultural Safety and Health and respective area UW Extension Agents
are developing similar on-farm programs for the Eau Claire/Chippewa Valley Region in April, Waupaca in
June. Additionally, a pilot webinar will be offered in March 2011 to provide departments with an
introduction to farm rescue trainings.
LaCrosse County Farm Accident Rescue Training Evaluation Summary
Prepared by Steve Huntzicker, UW Extension La Crosse County Agricultural Agent, Cheryl Skjolaas, UWExtension/Madison Center for Agricultural Safety and Health Agricultural Safety Specialist, and Kari
Johnson, Student Assistant, UW-Extension/Madison Center for Agricultural Safety and Health
Agricultural Safety Specialist.
December, 2011
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