Noxubee County Farm Bureau recently hosted a Farm Safety Fund Media Day to discuss the importance of farm safety, the purpose of the Noxubee County Farm Bureau Farm Safety Fund and recognize the sponsors of the fund at Good Farms in Macon.

Noxubee County Farm Bureau recognizes that one of the most dangerous farm jobs is working in or around grain bins — a metal structure used to store grains, such as corn and soybeans. It established the Farm Safety Fund to raise money to provide local emergency responders the education and equipment needed to make a successful grain bin safety rescue, Noxubee County Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Chair Christian Good said.

“Last fall, a local farmer was in a grain entrapment situation,” he said. “The local firefighters did not have the proper training or equipment for a grain bin safety rescue, so it was truly miraculous that he survived. After that incident, we wanted to make sure our first-responders were educated on a grain bin safety rescue and had the proper equipment if another farmer were to become trapped in a grain bin.”

Firefighters are trained to be reactive, but the equipment and education Farm Bureau has provided to the Noxubee County Fire Department allows them to be more proactive, Noxubee County EMR and Fire Coordinator Jim Robbins said.

“Farm Bureau has been instrumental in providing the grain bin safety training and helping us get this much needed equipment,” he said. “Equipment is one thing, but the next part of the equation is knowing how to use it effectively. Hopefully, we never have to use it, but we want to be prepared in case it happens.”

In addition to purchasing the grain bin safety equipment, Noxubee County Farm Bureau aspires to use its Farm Safety Fund proceeds to eventually fund other safety training, Good said.

For information about available MFBF safety education workshops, visit msfb.org/safety.