Polaris and Progressive Agriculture Foundation® Partnership Aims to Educate Youth and Promote Safe Riding Practices

A donation by Polaris will support resource development for the ATV and UTV curriculum in the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® program. 

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Progressive Agriculture Foundation has partnered with Polaris Inc., the global leader in powersports, to help educate children on safe riding practices for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and utility terrain vehicles (UTVs). Polaris has donated more than $40,000 and a youth UTV to support the Progressive Agriculture Foundation’s mission of educating youth through the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® program. 

For the past 26 years, Progressive Agriculture Safety Days have provided children and their communities with education, training and resources to make farm, ranch and rural life safer and healthier. The donation from Polaris will support the development of digital resources focused on ATV and UTV safety that can be utilized for virtual Progressive Agriculture Safety Day events. 

“We are excited to partner with Polaris on providing important safety messaging around ATVs and UTVs,” said Brian Kuhl, president and chief executive officer of the Progressive Agriculture Foundation. “Sadly, we know many ATV and UTV incidents occur due to operator error and can 

be preventable with the right education. By delivering programming in a fun, engaging way, we hope to provide more children with strategies to be safer when they ride.” 

According to 2019 data released by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the most common fatal events for youth working on farms were the result of transportation incidents, with tractors, ATVs and UTVs as the primary vehicle sources. Through this donation, the Progressive Agriculture Foundation will develop additional education aimed at diminishing this statistic in rural communities. 

In 2019, the Progressive Agriculture Safety Days program reached more than 46,000 youth participants with information on ATV safety, making it one of the three most well-attended lessons of the year. The collaboration with Polaris aims to further the educational reach of this important topic. 

“Polaris is proud to partner with Progressive Agriculture Foundation and support the Off-Road Vehicle Safety Day program,” said Steven Menneto, President of Off Road Vehicles at Polaris. “This program will educate youth riders about important safety information and responsible riding practices they will carry with them through a lifetime enjoyment of off-road vehicles. We’re excited to support the development of innovative digital courses dedicated to rider safety.” 

Families interested in educating their children on ATV and UTV safety are encouraged to visit the Progressive Agriculture Foundation’s YouTube channel for new digital programming on the topic. In addition, families looking for ATV and UTV safety materials can review the eight golden rules of ATV safety here. 

Since 1995, the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day program has been on a mission to provide education, training and resources to make farm, ranch and rural life safer and healthier for children and their communities. For more information on Progressive Agriculture Safety Days, visit www.progressiveag.org or call 888-257-3529. 

Looking to make a safe investment? Help send a child to a Progressive Agriculture Safety Day event by texting the word “SAFETYDAY” to 44321 or visiting www.progressiveag.org/donate. 

Editorial note: The Progressive Agriculture Safety Day logo and Safety Day photos are available upon request by calling 888-257-3529.