Stateline Farm Rescue trained area first responders on how to safely execute farm rescues at Doerfer Farms on Saturday.
Approximately 60 first responders from 10 area fire departments participated in the hands-on training that focused on grain bin extractions and auger entanglement, two common farming incidents.
When farmers become trapped in a grain bin or tangled in an auger, having the proper training and equipment is critical to make a safe rescue, Dane County Farm Bureau Ag Promotions Chair Lindsey Hellenbrand explained.
"[The] most precious resource that we have in this country is agriculture, and it's the ag families who we are working for today," rescue training coordinator Mark Baker said.
Baker, a farmer and first responder himself, has been coordinating farm rescue trainings for approximately 30 years with Stateline Farm Rescue. Baker designed the training simulator when he saw a need for first responders to receive training.