CALGARY, Alta. – Grade 6 to 9 classes from schools in the Calgary area and elsewhere came to Stampede Park on May 26 to attend the first Farm Safety Day, a new educational initiative supported by the Calgary Stampede and AltaLink. The free, four-hour event took place at AltaLink Hall in the Park’s Agrium Western Event Centre, according to a notice on the Stampede website. Intended to raise student awareness of agricultural safety, Farm Safety Day consisted of four hours of information stations and interactive activities about safe use of farm equipment, electricity safety, animal safety, distracted driving, first aid, grain safety, chemicals, confined spaces and other topics. Media reports have stated that more than 700 students from across southern Alberta attended the event. Farming safety has been a notable and contentious issue in the province since last year, when the NDP government proposed Bill 6, the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act, which entitles injured agricultural employees to workers’ compensation benefits (COHSN, Nov. 24); the bill passed into law on Dec. 10.