January 5, 2017

1 Min Read
Sammy Blossom was chosen for Farm Bureau's 2016 Distinguished Service AwardPhoto: Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation

The Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation presented its highest honor — the Distinguished Service Award — to Sammy Blossom of Flora, Miss. Blossom recently retired after 16 years as the head of the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association.

Blossom grew up on a small dairy, beef, and sheep farm in Scott County where he developed a lifelong interest in livestock.

“I showed at FFA and was real active in FFA and livestock programs,” said Blossom. “From there I went to Mississippi State and graduated in Animal Dairy Sciences and spent about seven years managing cattle farms in Mississippi and Kentucky.”

In 1998, after having served as president of the Cattlemen’s Association and the Beef Council, he was hired by the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association and the Mississippi Beef Council.

“The Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association is a membership organization, much like Farm Bureau. It represents the views and the interest of our members,” Blossom said. “It works for our scholarship program.  We do some lobbying in Washington and Jackson for issues that are important to cattlemen and then we’ve got a network of about 60 county cattlemen’s associations that we work with to help them be successful.”

Blossom says he’s really enjoyed the past year of retirement. “I certainly have caught up on a lot of projects around the farm and visited some of my friends and families, spent more time with grandchildren than I’ve ever been able to and it’s been interesting,” he said with a smile. “I look forward to maybe doing a little bit more in the field of agriculture as time goes on, but I’ve enjoyed the year of rest.”

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