California-based AgSafe chosen to lead U.S. EPA farmworker training, education program for pesticide safety

California-based nonprofit AgSafe has been awarded a five-year cooperative agreement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to lead a national effort to deliver Worker Protection Standard training and resources for farmworkers, growers and farm labor contractors.

AgSafe will receive up to $2.4 million in funding to provide direct education, scalable training networks and regionally tailored resources to ensure safer, more sustainable farming operations across U.S. agriculture.

“Over the next five years, the initiative will strengthen the capacity of growers and farm labor contractors to protect workers, reduce risk and cultivate a culture of safety that benefits agriculture and the families and communities that sustain it,” said AgSafe CEO Theresa Kiehn.

Building on more than 30 years of boots-on-the-ground experience in farmworker safety training, AgSafe is leading this initiative to provide practical resources for agricultural employers to help protect their workforce and communities while facing increasing compliance responsibilities.

The project objectives include:

• Deliver multilingual pesticide safety training in California, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Florida, Georgia, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. 
• Establish a train-the-trainer network to deliver ongoing education and build capacity withing agricultural operations.
• Develop and disseminate culturally relevant safety materials in English, Spanish and Indigenous languages, tailored to in-field realities.
• Create regional advisory groups to gather grower and worker input, address barriers and ensure training meets real-world needs.
  

As part of the agreement, AgSafe also will develop at least 10 “master” trainers who will, in turn, train an estimated 1,370 “Tier 2” trainers by the end of the project cycle. With this “train the trainer” model, the effort will reach more than 30,000 farmworkers and handlers across the targeted regions by 2030.

AgSafe will collaborate with regional partners including the Western Tree Nut Association and North Carolina AgroMedicine, among others, to bring local expertise and help shape training content, expand outreach and ensure delivery of resources that reflect the realities of agricultural communities across the country. 

“Through this cooperative agreement, AgSafe, alongside our regional partners, collaborators and the agricultural industry will make a lasting impact on the health, safety and wellbeing of farmworkers and agricultural communities nationwide,” Kiehn added. 

Established in 1991, AgSafe offers education on agricultural safety, human resources and leadership development. It provides training, education and practical tools to support agricultural employers, supervisors and workers in promoting safe workplaces, regulatory compliance and effective leadership practices.