CANFIELD Seminars explore farming concerns

Two speakers at the first seminar will discuss farm-machinery safety.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
CANFIELD -- Reminders of the many potential hazards of farming and a glimpse of the outlook for commodities markets will be the topics of two seminars Wednesday.
The Mahoning County Farm Bureau is now accepting reservations for the farm safety seminar, to be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon, and the market-outlook luncheon seminar, noon to 3 p.m. Both events will be at the Mill Creek Agriculture and Education building, 7574 Columbiana-Canfield Road (state Route 46).
Sponsors: Pearl Burlingame, organization director of the Mahoning County Farm Bureau, said the events are sponsored by the Mahoning and Columbiana farm bureaus.
"We continue to remind people to be safe," Burlingame said. "People get in a hurry, and there are consequences to not being on guard all the time."
Speakers: Among the speakers at the safety seminar are Lt. Brian Girts, commander of the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Canfield post, and Larry Kingston of the National Safety Council, both addressing the topic of farm machinery. Other guests will speak on chemical application, the cancer risks of farming, and the cost of accidents.
Burlingame said that discussion will include reminders to mind children during farm operations. Parents need to remember not to assign children farm chores they are too young to handle, she said.
Market issues: The speaker at the market seminar will be Tim Shank, grain marketing specialist from the Toledo branch of FC Stone Futures and Commodities, based in Des Moines, Iowa.
The luncheon seminar will include information on the farm bill, domestic and foreign markets, supply and demand, carryout stocks, acreage projections, foreign competition, national livestock numbers on feed and the Chicago Board of Trade market.
For more information or to register for either or both of the seminars, call the Mahoning County Farm Bureau at (330) 533-5553.