The Iowa NAMA chapter held the Field to Food Ag Olympics in conjunction with Johnston’s Green Days festival on Saturday, June 20. About 50 children participated in the free event presented by BASF with additional support from American Solutions for Business, Baitinger Consulting, Heartland Co-op, Helena Chemical Company, McCormick Company, and Successful Farming.

Children between the ages of four and eleven competed in four events to learn about rural safety. The first challenge, Dress for Success, was a race to put on work clothes and the appropriate safety attire. The second station was Driving 101, a pedal tractor version of driver’s education that challenges participants to safely maneuver through a series of cones. The third event, Grain-ID, put a new twist on the traditional “find the needle in the haystack” game by asking kids to find the soybean in a bucket of corn. To complete the competition, players had to pass a Jeopardy- style quiz that tested their knowledge of rural safety issues. Farm Safety 4 Just Kids handed out hats, T-shirts, coloring books, and goodie bags to the children who participated.

The event raised $1,900 on behalf of Farm Safety 4 Just Kids and the Iowa FFA Foundation. Since 1995, the Iowa NAMA Chapter has donated over $60,000 to rural and agricultural organizations through Field to Food events.