Reducing Occupational Injuries Among Dairy Farm Workers through the Certified Safe Dairy Worker Program

Agriculture consistently ranks as one of the most hazardous industries, with dairy farm workers in the United States experiencing among the highest number of injuries across all farming subgroups. Dairy farm workers interact with a myriad of hazards throughout the workday, like heavy machinery, toxic chemicals, animals, physical hazards, manure pits, and biological hazards. To further compound these risks, more than half of all agriculture workers encounter language barriers on the job which can make communicating safety practices inaccessible among employees. Basic farm laborer jobs do not have training requirements which has its pros and cons – on one hand, this eliminates several barriers to entry into the field, on the other hand, workers may not be aware of the hazards associated with this type of work; much less how to avoid them. This creates the perfect storm for high rates of preventable injuries among dairy farm workers. The Certified Safe Dairy Worker Certification Program aims to professionalize dairy farming by providing hands-on training to dairy farm workers in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner. The program will train participants to recognize, prevent, and mitigate common workplace hazards; Thereby leaving them with skills that increase confidence on the job, making them safer and more productive. The pilot program will take place in Chippewa County, Wisconsin where a cohort of Dairy Farm Workers will have the opportunity to earn the Certified Safe Dairy Worker Certificate. They will be followed for one year alongside a control group from the same county to track incident work-related injuries. During this time, participants will receive a modest quarterly financial incentive from the program at each follow-up check-in where they will report injuries and near misses. Farms that employ certified individuals will receive a stipend for their insurance premiums proportional to the number of certified employees on their operation to incentivize hiring these individuals. Thereby making certification mutually beneficial for employees and the employer. Following successful completion of the pilot program, the program will be scaled up to the national level in partnership with NIOSH and OSHA. The CSDW certification program aims to make safe occupational practices the easy and desirable choice across all dairy farms in the United States.