Two North Dakota 4-H’ers attended the Ignite by 4-H Summit in Washington, D.C., on March 12-16. Delegates Thomas Jewett of Rogers and Chance Jacobson of Hatton represented the state for the first time at the event.

The Ignite by 4-H Summit is designed to help teen youth “find their spark” – a 4-H initiative that encourages youth to identify their passions and experience new opportunities and skills from various topic areas and professionals. Participants chose from four programming tracks focused on spark development: Agriscience; Community Accelerators; Healthy Living and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

Jewett and Jacobson, however, were more than attendees at the summit.

North Dakota State University Extension’s farm and ranch safety program and the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day program selected Jewett and Jacobson to lead a farm safety educational session in the Agriscience track.

“Thomas and Chance have been invaluable 4-H members who have been actively involved with NDSU Extension farm and ranch safety youth programs, such as the NDSU Extension Farm Safety Camp program,” says Angie Johnson, NDSU Extension farm and ranch safety coordinator. “Watching them become leaders and champions in North Dakota farm safety education efforts made them the perfect fit to provide farm safety education to 4-H’ers from across the U.S.”

Both have attended farm safety camp and championed farm safety education efforts by sharing their personal farm safety stories. They have been guest speakers during farm safety camp and have taught hands-on farm safety demonstrations to their peers.

Members of the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day team were pleased to have Jewett and Jacobson as partners to lead farm safety education efforts at Ignite by 4-H and say their hands-on activities about equipment and livestock safety were impactful.

“Thomas and Chance were excellent youth educators during our ‘In My Safety Era: Building a Healthier, Happier Culture’ Agriscience session,” shares Toby Neal, volunteer and data systems administrator at the Progressive Agriculture Foundation. “These young leaders used their own experiences to captivate learners in their lessons and fostered connections with peers who may not have a history or frequent interaction with agriculture.”

According to the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, a child dies in an agriculture-related incident once every three days, and at least 33 children are seriously injured once a day.

Jewett and Jacobson want to change these grim statistics, and they say presenting farm safety education to teens at the summit is only the beginning. They want to keep teaching farm safety skills to prevent youth injury.

“Teaching youth at Ignite by 4-H was eye-opening because I was able to see how others see farm safety from diverse backgrounds and experiences,” says Jewett. “I learned new ways to teach and demonstrate skills and techniques in farm safety to youth, including PTO (power take off) safety, pinch points and reaction times. I am grateful for the opportunity to have had this unforgettable experience.”

“Attending Ignite helped me to grow as a leader by helping me understand how farm safety is often overlooked. Even the smallest change can make a big difference in preventing injuries and saving lives,” says Jacobson. “My hope is that I can continue to advocate for farm safety and share my story to help others shape their stories in a positive way.”

Johnson chaperoned the event and enjoyed seeing the personal growth gained by the duo.

“This event took Chance and Thomas out of their comfort zones and allowed them to expand their 4-H network, as over 1,200 4-H members attended,” says Johnson. “It was incredible to watch them both grow as leaders and advocate for farm safety education to their peers, as developing strong farm safety habits in youth starts with positive role models – both youth and adults.”

4-H is a program of NDSU Extension. Jewett and Jacobson were recipients of the Fisher Global Foundation Scholarship, which provided financial assistance to cover registration costs of the 2025 Ignite by 4-H Summit.

NDSU Agriculture Communication – April 28, 2025

Source: Angie Johnson, 701-231-1873, angela.b.johnson@ndsu.edu

Editor: Dominic Erickson, 701-231-5546, dominic.erickson@ndsu.edu