Mississippi Hosts Safety Conference – a Recommitment of Responsibility to Keep Farm Bureau Members Safer on the Farm

Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation recently partnered with Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation to co‑host the American Farm Bureau Federation Safety Conference, bringing together safety coordinators and specialists from across the nation to share ideas, resources, and best practices focused on agricultural safety.

“This is what we refer to as the American Farm Bureau Safety Conference,” said Benton Moseley, Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation safety specialist. “These are safety coordinators and safety specialists from around the country.”

While participants represented diverse regions and agricultural operations, Moseley said everyone arrived with the same mission.

“Everybody comes from a different background and a different part of the country,” he said. “But the neat thing is that we all have the same end goal—and that’s to keep people safe and get them home to their families.”

As part of the conference, Mississippi Farm Bureau showcased its grain bin safety simulator, offering hands‑on demonstrations for attendees who had heard about similar programs but had never experienced one firsthand. Through the grain bin simulator trainings for both farm workers and first responders, lives have been saved on the farm.

“We’re very fortunate to have a grain bin simulator,” Moseley said. “Some of these guys have heard about them in different parts of the country, but they’ve never been around one. We’re just showing them how it works and how it helps save lives.”

Hosting the conference was a point of pride for Mississippi Farm Bureau’s safety team.

“When we had the opportunity as Louisiana and Mississippi to host the conference, we both jumped at it,” Moseley said. “Being able to host folks at my own place makes it even more special. You build friendships over the years, but actually having them here gives a whole new perspective.”

For many attendees, the conference served as both a learning experience and a chance to compare approaches to safety programming.

Luke Beam, safety team coordinator with North Carolina Farm Bureau, said the event was especially valuable as his state continues to build its safety efforts.

“I’ve only been in this role for about six weeks,” Beam said. “So this event is really crucial as we figure out where our safety program is going and how we can best serve our members.”

Beam noted that each state approaches safety differently, offering valuable ideas that can be adapted to local needs.

“Mississippi has a dedicated safety crew, while some states have one person handling everything,” he said. “I’m here to see what works for other states and figure out what will work best for ours.”

Despite the varying structures, Beam emphasized that safety efforts are often most successful when accidents never happen.

“You never hear how effective it was because the accident doesn’t happen,” he said. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

For long-term safety advocates, the conference also felt like a reunion.

“It’s like family, like Farm Bureau is,” said Sarita Blankenship of Kansas Farm Bureau. “You see people you haven’t seen in years, and you pick right back up.”

Blankenship, who spent decades traveling her state to present safety programs, said her focus remains on finding new ways to share the safety message—especially with younger audiences.

“Kids are very receptive,” she said. “When they see how fast something can go wrong, they listen.”

She recalled a moment when a young girl approached her after a presentation.

“She told me she was going to tell her dad she didn’t want to ride on the tractor without her own seat and seat belt anymore,” Blankenship said. “That stuck with me, because after the fact is too late. You have to plan ahead.”

Blankenship also highlighted the growing importance of mental health in farm safety conversations, noting that safety is constantly evolving.

“Always evolving, always learning, always trying to keep up,” she said. “Mental health is a huge issue now, and in Kansas we’ve taken on that initiative to spread the word and try to get help for our members.”

For Moseley, that spirit of collaboration and shared responsibility is exactly what the conference represents.

“Knowing you might help someone be a little more careful—that’s something to be proud of,” he said. “If that information gets passed along from one person to another, that’s how lives are protected.”

By co‑hosting the American Farm Bureau Federation Safety Conference, Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation reinforced its commitment to farm safety—both at home and across the country.