Health and Safety Training for Immigrant Dairy Workers in the Upper Midwest

Details

• Personal Author:
  Balius PN ; Bender JB ; Charlier D ; Kirsch JD ; Liebman A ; Peterson C ; Vázquez RI
• Description:
  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. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Animal Husbandry Animals Dairy Products Emigration And Immigration Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Workers Animal Husbandry Author Keywords: Occupational Safety Dairy Farming Dairy Products Immigrant Workers Occupational Safety Safety Culture Safety Education Safety Training Training

  More +
• ISSN:
  0022-0302
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Chicago Region [OSHA] ; Dallas Region [OSHA] ; Minnesota ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  108
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070744
• Citation:
  J Dairy Sci 2025 Apr; 108(4):3756-3763
• Contact Point Address:
  Jeff B. Bender, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455
• Email:
  bende002@umn.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Minnesota
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20110930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Dairy Science
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fffd23dd405f0bbf2188d38fe1925d0d9d3a3c92eaff3907c5f151264b070382cadce8a4993a350aa89e48f40f1a0528c0b265ac1fbef30ef0e7aacec6db32ab
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208913/cdc_208913_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 510.46 KB ]