Annual Conference
Program
All times are in CST (Manitoba) time.
| October 6 | October 7 | October 8 | October 9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 | Opening Keynote - Katelyn Duban: Wildrose Farmer | Jody Wacowich: Exploring AgSafe Alberta's Farmers Care Program AND Lucia Stephen: Community at Your Fingertips - Ag Talk for Farmers' Mental Health | TBA | Closing Keynote - Farmer Tim: Farming the Fields of Social Media - Farm Safety Edition |
| 1:00 | Jessie Adams: Child Safety Through an Australian Lens | Bryan Weichelt, Dr. Roger Aby, Scott Heiberger and Dr. Serap Gorucu: AgInjuryNews – Filling the Gap in Agricultural Injury Reporting (Panel Discussion) | Craig Lester: Navigating the evolving world of Traditional Media and Urban Information Landscapes | |
Tickets
With thanks to the generous sponsorship of John Deere, all conference registrations are now free!
Speakers
Agriculture isn’t just about fields, fences, and equipment—it’s about people, families, and communities. Yet farm safety is too often reduced to manuals and warning labels. In this presentation, Katelyn Duban—a first-generation farmer and founder of The Rural Woman Podcast™—shares her own experiences and the stories of women in ag to highlight the human side of safety. She explores hidden risks like burnout and isolation, the power of women’s voices to spark change, and practical ways storytelling and community can build safer, more resilient farms.
Katelyn Duban is a first-generation grain farmer, storyteller, and community builder. She has had the privilege of celebrating the stories of Women in Agriculture through her podcast, The Rural Woman Podcast, since 2019. With nearly a million downloads, Duban has been able to reach and amplify the voices of rural women to a worldwide audience.
Farmer Tim, well known for his engaging presence on Facebook, will deliver the closing keynote, Farming the Fields of Social Media – Farm Safety Edition. He will explore how social media can be used to share safety messages, connect with farming communities, and inspire positive change in farm safety practices.
Tim May is a 4th generation dairy farmer, seasoned speaker, and influential social media advocate from Rockwood, Ontario. He holds a degree in Animal Science from the University of Guelph and operates his family farm with his two wonderful children and his wife, a talented veterinarian. His registered Holstein herd (and two Jerseys) are featured through various social channels, where Tim inspires his followers to learn and share more about agriculture.
Tim is extremely passionate about agriculture and consumer education. Over the past 40+ years, his family has given farm tours to schools, general interest groups and individuals. It is from the school children that he got his nickname, “Farmer Tim.” Tim uses his platform to educate consumers on life through the lens of a farmer, including the rewards, motivation and mental health struggles that come with it. Tim’s sense of humour, wisdom and transparency has been key to building public trust with his followers and for the agriculture industry.” Tim’s efforts to promote agriculture and break the stigma of mental health have earned him the Farm and Food Care Champion award, Jersey Canada’s Certificate of Recognition and recently, the King Charles III Coronation Medal at the Senate in Ottawa. Tim enjoys speaking globally, but he feels most at home on the farm.
AgSafe Alberta created the acronym FARMERS CARE in early 2020. The letters referring to the common ways people get hurt or killed on farms and ranches. The Board like the idea so much that they challenged the staff to turn it into a program to learn about farm safety. This presentation will cover the development of the FARMERS CARE program and the challenges and successes that provided opportunities to learn and make the program even better.
Jody was raised on a cow-calf operation near Edmonton and completed her Ag Business degree at the U of A. She went on to work with Olds College doing extension training in China and returned to work with Alberta Pork as an Information and Communication specialist. Eventually she moved to the Drumheller area and worked in project management for companies including Olds College and the Calgary Stampede while completing her MBA in Agriculture. She was also the safety director for her father’s water hauling business in Edmonton. She has also worked with AFSC in their insurance division in the Three Hills area.
In her free time, she is a mom to three active girls and has been a 4-H leader, coach and cheerleader. She likes being active and has competed in triathlons and road races, she is a competitive development archery coach and coaches in the Ignite Archery High Performance program. This summer she was the coach for Canada’s archery team at the FISU Games in Germany. She has also earned her 2nd degree black belt in karate.
Jody wants to see farm fatalities and injuries in Alberta reduced and keep everyone on the farm safe ensuring that farms are sustainable from one generation to the next. She works to ensure AgSafe Alberta provides the practical tools producers need to grow the farm safety culture in Alberta.
Jessie Adams, from Australia, will share insights from her international study tour on child farm safety. Her presentation, Child Farm Safety through an Australian Lens, explores global approaches to keeping children safe on farms and how these lessons can inform practices at home.
Jessie Adams is an Associate Research Fellow at the National Centre for Farmer Health in rural Victoria, Australia. Growing up on her family’s beef farm in northeast Victoria inspired her passion for improving the health, wellbeing and safety of farming families and communities. Throughout her time at the centre, Jessie has worked on numerous projects aimed at improving the lives of farmers, their families and communities. Jessie recently completed her PhD focused on exploring the injury risk and safety behaviours of children on farms.
Jessie was awarded a Churchill Fellowship, which took her to the United States, Canada and Ireland in mid 2025 to investigate approaches being adopted internationally to improve child farm safety and education. Jessie is committed to translating the learnings from this into practical strategies to reduce keep children safe on Australian farms.
From the desert sands of the United Arab Emirates to a dairy in Tokyo, Japan, to a feedlot in Queensland, Australia, to the Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters in Rome, Craig Lester visited 15 countries to study traditional media and urban information landscapes during his Nuffield journey. Craig will share insights he has gained on his travels and in his more than two decades working in mainstream media. This will include the importance of continued engagement with traditional media and the necessity of inspiring others to tell agricultural stories.
Craig was raised on a mixed beef and agriculture farm in Rolling Hills, Alberta, where he learned at a young age about the vital role agriculture plays in the lives of people around the world. Craig has worked as a broadcast journalist in both small and large markets for more than two decades.
He is a 2023 Canadian Nuffield Scholar and volunteers with the Alberta Farm Writers’ Association, Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation, International Federation of Agricultural Journalists, and Calgary Stampede, among other organizations.
This panel will explore how AgInjuryNews helps address critical gaps in tracking agricultural injuries by compiling cases from news and media reports. Panelists will discuss how the free, searchable database provides real-world stories behind incidents and how these insights can be used by researchers, safety advocates, and policymakers to strengthen prevention efforts.
Bryan Weichelt is a Research Scientist with the Marshfield Clinic Health System’s National Farm Medicine Center. His research program focuses on efforts to improve the lives of farmers and rural military Veterans and has been directing the AgInjuryNews program since its 2015 inception. He currently leads several military Veterans programs and projects within MCHS, and also chairs the 100+ member MCHS Military Community Employee Resource Group. He earned his master’s in information technology, as well as his MBA prior to completing a PhD in biomedical and health informatics in 2016. Dr. Weichelt also recently graduated from the National Rural Health Association’s Rural Health Fellows Program in February of 2025. He also holds a “WOC” Research Scientist appointment with the Department of Veterans Affairs, and is the holder of the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute’s Steven J. Miller Distinguished Physician/Scientist Endowment in Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety Research.
This panel will explore how AgInjuryNews helps address critical gaps in tracking agricultural injuries by compiling cases from news and media reports. Panelists will discuss how the free, searchable database provides real-world stories behind incidents and how these insights can be used by researchers, safety advocates, and policymakers to strengthen prevention efforts.
Dr. Aby is an engineer with 5 years of experience in agricultural engineering research focusing on safety engineering. Currently, Dr. Aby is a research specialist at the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety within the National Farm Medicine Center of the Marshfield Clinic Health System. His work focuses on enhancing agricultural safety and health, addressing emerging technologies and traditional farming practices. He evaluates safety standards for agricultural machinery, identifies ergonomic risks, and aims to address gaps in current guidelines. Additionally, he researches farm fatality trends to provide crucial insights into major causes of injury, supporting targeted interventions to improve worker safety. He is currently analyzing Wisconsin farm fatality data for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023. Another of his ongoing projects is to identify effective sources of agricultural injury data and utilize them to supply the AgInjuryNews website. The AgInjuryNews is the largest dataset of its kind, available through a web-based system that provides an interactive display of injury case data derived from news media and other publicly available reports. Ultimately, his goal is to create safer farming environments through improved safety standards, ergonomic solutions, and targeted safety initiatives.
This panel will explore how AgInjuryNews helps address critical gaps in tracking agricultural injuries by compiling cases from news and media reports. Panelists will discuss how the free, searchable database provides real-world stories behind incidents and how these insights can be used by researchers, safety advocates, and policymakers to strengthen prevention efforts.
Scott Heiberger, MS, is communications manager at the National Farm Medicine Center and National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, Wisconsin. He manages media relations, edits and writes media releases and other center outputs, and is managing editor of the peer-reviewed Journal of Agromedicine. A former newspaper journalist, Scott is a member of the American Ag Editors Association and National Association of Farm Broadcasting. His background enables him to translate research and promote resources to key audiences. He also is part of the outreach team for the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (UMASH).
This panel will explore how AgInjuryNews helps address critical gaps in tracking agricultural injuries by compiling cases from news and media reports. Panelists will discuss how the free, searchable database provides real-world stories behind incidents and how these insights can be used by researchers, safety advocates, and policymakers to strengthen prevention efforts.
Dr. Serap Gorucu is an Assistant Professor and Agricultural Safety and Health State Extension Specialist at the University of Florida, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department. Her research focuses on injury surveillance, risk assessment using AI-based ergonomic tools, and the development of safety interventions in agriculture. She also leads Extension efforts promoting agricultural safety practices and support individuals affected by agricultural injuries. Dr. Gorucu is actively involved in ISASH, ASHCA, and ASABE, contributing to multiple committees and conference planning initiatives.
Presented by The Do More Agriculture Foundation
Farming can be isolating — and you don’t have to face challenges alone. AgTalk, hosted by Togetherall and offered by The Do More Agriculture Foundation, is a free, anonymous, and moderated online space designed specifically for farmers, ranchers, and agricultural workers. In this session, you’ll learn how AgTalk works, why peer-to-peer support is so powerful, and how this digital community can fit into the broader landscape of mental health resources available to agriculture. Whether for yourself, your family, or your community, AgTalk puts connection and care right at your fingertips.
Lucia Stephen – Lucia Stephen is a strategist and advocate with over 15 years of experience advancing agricultural transitions and farmer advocacy. As Operations and Outreach Manager with The Do More Agriculture Foundation, she is committed to fostering open conversations about mental health in agriculture and rural communities, working to reduce stigma and strengthen resilience. Through its work, she helps to cultivate a culture of mental well-being within Canadian farming communities.
Become a CASA 2025 Conference Sponsor
As a national, non-profit, CASA works to promote farm safety in the agricultural sector to address a harsh reality – in an average year, Canada mourns the loss of over 60 adults and children due to preventable agriculture-related incidents.
Connecting, Learning, and Taking Action
The CASA Conference is a vehicle for partners dedicated to reducing agriculture-related injuries and building an industry that is healthy, safe, and sustainable to come together to engage with experts, learn about new programs, network, and connect with like-minded individuals.
Farm Safety Doesn’t Just Happen
It takes dedication, passion, and commitment. You can help. By supporting CASA’s Annual Conference, you are playing an important role in keeping farmers, farm families, farm workers, and farming communities safe.
If you’re interested in sponsoring the 2025 CASA Conference, please contact Meaghan Trachsel at meaghant@casa-acsa.ca.
Thanks to our Conference Sponsor!
