Health and safety training for immigrant dairy workers in the Upper Midwest

ABSTRACT: This project implemented Seguridad en las Lecherías, an award-winning, bilingual (Spanish and English), 5-module curriculum approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The intervention aimed to increase safety knowledge among immigrant dairy workers, encourage a safety culture, and identify challenges faced by the dairy farming community in Minnesota and South Dakota. A total of 360 Hispanic immigrant workers from 19 participating dairies were trained. Pre- and post-assessments revealed a statistically significant increase in knowledge after each training. Producers and managers provided positive feedback noting improved awareness of safety and positive behavior changes to reduce farm incidents. A flexible approach to implementation was essential to the intervention's success, including synchronizing training with workers' shifts. Overall, this application of the Seguridad en las Lecherías curriculum suggests that comprehensive, culturally responsive safety training delivered in the language spoken by workers can have a positive effect on workers' safety knowledge, practices, and behavior on dairy farms. Continued efforts to prioritize and reinforce worker safety are vital to the sustainability and well-being of the dairy farming community in the region and beyond.