Registration is open for the North American Agricultural Safety Summit, which will feature top safety experts, mentoring opportunities and a unique agricultural safety learning lab.
This year’s summit, “Raising Safety 2020: Cultivating a Culture of Safety,” takes place March 19-20 at Bally’s of Las Vegas, Nev.
The summit, hosted by the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA), will match worker/farmer safety interventions with production practices and emerging safety issues in one of the nation’s most hazardous industries.
“Safety in agricultural production is a responsibility that cannot be left to regulators,” said Jess McCluer, board chair of ASHCA, and vice president of safety and regulatory affairs at the National Grain and Feed Association. “Not only is safety important for individual employees, but it also is one of the key business excellence areas that determine long-term sustainability. This year’s summit will bring together agricultural businesses, federal agencies and safety professionals dedicated to delivering effective and efficient practices that enhance worker safety within agriculture.”
Like previous ASHCA-hosted events, the 2020 summit will focus on strengthening relationships to identify, test and implement cost-effective, practical safety strategies that enhance the well-being of workers in agriculture.
Among the speakers:
- John Howard, M.D., director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), part of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the key source of funding for 11 agricultural safety and health research centers nationwide. Howard has served under three U.S. presidents, and in 2016 he became the first person to be appointed to a third 6-year term as NIOSH director. He’ll address emerging issues in agricultural occupational safety related to new technologies and the evolving workforce.
- Kristi Boswell (invited), a former ASHCA board member and director of Congressional Relations for American Farm Bureau Federation, currently senior advisor to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
- Mark Pew, senior vice president, product development and marketing, Preferred Medical, Atlanta. Pew is known for his work at the intersection of chronic pain and appropriate treatment in workers' compensation.
- Lourdes Gonzales, global director of human resources, Gowan Company, Yuma, Ariz..
- Daniel Foster, Ph.D., associate professor at Penn State University and facilitator of connections between the ag industry and secondary, post-secondary and community-centered learning.
The 2020 Ag Safety Summit also will include:
- A fast-paced program with plenary and break-out sessions.
- A pre-conference learning lab (March 18) with hands-on demonstrations of safety resources and training programs.
- Opportunities for networking during receptions, breaks and roundtables.
- Mentoring for first-time attendees and early career agricultural risk managers.
- Awards luncheon acknowledging safety achievements of individuals and companies.
- Research poster session with lightning talks.
To register as an attendee, sponsor or exhibitor, and to learn more about ASHCA, go to the summit page. Early bird registration deadline is Jan. 31, with the regular registration period ending Feb. 28. Late registrations will be taken through the event.
Led by its industry members, and informed by its academic and research members, ASHCA is uniquely positioned to match evidence-based safety interventions with production practices and emerging safety issues.
ASHCA, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization established in 2007, is a coalition of agricultural business leaders, producer associations, risk managers and others joining together with safety associations, federal and state agencies, educational institutions and safety professionals.
