Small Town News

Farm Credit delivers "Meals in the Field" with safety message

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More than one-hundred Illinois farm families will take a quick

break from their harvest field work to enjoy a complimentary hot

lunch during the September 19-25 National Farm Safety & Health

Week.

This year marks Farm Credit's tenth annual "Meals in the Fields" program. Farm Credit Services of Illinois established the program in 2000 to help promote farm safety during the harvest season. Each of Farm Credit's 20 branch offices selects at least one farm family to provide a lunch meal on each weekday of Farm Safety Week. The Farm Credit staff serves the lunch wherever the farmers are working that day. This year, each "Meals in the Field" host family will also be provided a Farm First Aid Kit produced by the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety compliments of Farm Credit. The kit is specifically designed for farm injuries and is equipped with items such as an isothermal blanket, ice packs, a finger splint, and eye wash containers.

"Farm Credit salutes the hard working farm families in Illinois. We hope our meals give farmers a compelling reason to climb off the combine or out of their grain truck to take a quick and refreshing break during the long harvest work days, "says Dave Owens, President and C.E.O. of Farm Credit Services of Illinois. "We want to remind farmers that it pays in the long run to slow down enough to take breaks and drink plenty of water to help them stay alert while operating farm machinery."

Although agriculture continues to rank as one the most dangerous occupations and industries in North America and across the globe, Illinois farm-related deaths decreased in the past year to the lowest number in six years. Farm fatalities in the state numbered 21 from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010 - down from the 33 deaths in 2008-2009. Tractor rollovers and runovers remained the leading cause of death for the tenth straight year. Tractor-vehicle collisions ranked second; farm-related deaths with grain bin incidents ranked third.

All Illinois farm families that reside in the southern 60 counties are eligible for "Meals in the Field" by registering with a Farm Credit Services of Illinois branch office or on-line at http://fcsillinois.com/ registration html.

In recognition of another year of

exceptional financial performance by both the cooperative and its farmer-borrowers, Farm Credit is announcing a special loan program that provides 0% financing for farmers on the first ninety days on new loans for farm equipment, grain storage and drying, technology upgrades, or other farm improvements. Qualified loans will accrue no interest in the first 90 days and will be automatically placed on Farm Credit's prime in dexed variable product after the 90-day interest-free period - unless the customer chooses another pricing option at that time. The prime product's interest rate is at 4.0% as of September 1, 2010.

Farm Credit Services of Illinois is a farmer owned and directed agricultural lending cooperative that serves 8, 000 farm families, agribusinesses, and rural landowners with competitive and flexible financing and crop insurance expertise. The mission of the U.S. Farm Credit System is to be a reliable provider of financial capital and financial services to agriculture and Rural America.



Copyright 2010 Mt. Zion Region News, Mt. Zion, Illinois. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2011 Mt. Zion Region News Mt. Zion, Illinois. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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