A farmer in the county who had experienced a farm related accident that lead to the death of his father came to me hoping to have some programing that would lead to some light being shone on farm safety, leading into the busy spring season. Because of the abnormally high number of farm related injuries within the county over the last 30 years, I wanted to reach as wide of an audience as possible. We decided to have a farmer appreciation event. We brought in representatives from the county health department to do hearing, vision and blood pressure checks, partnered with businesses like Ag Credit and the local farm service agency, and invited FFA members from the high school to come out and help show the farmers that we appreciated their work and hoped they would be safe this spring while trying to keep us fed. 

We made the event available to all agriculture producers within the county but specifically targeted those farmers who are actively producing and working as a significant part of the income. The majority of participants in attendance were full time farmers or at least half time. Though the attendees ranged from new or aspiring farmers to retired producers.

Commissioner Jonathan Shell came and addressed the group on the topic of farm safety and we shared a meal. At the end of the program we took the time to honor some producers who were doing an exemplary job of prioritizing safety on their own farms, and then capped off the night with a door prize drawing. Overall the night was a great success and went a long way in furthering my mission of building healthy and sustainable community and culture here in Anderson County.