In the 2023–24 year, AgSafe held 278 training sessions, up more than 35% from the 204 sessions the previous year. Attendance rose as well, jumping from 3,667 participants to 5,664.
President and CEO Theresa Kiehn, who has been with the organization since 2009, said AgSafe’s recent focus has been on training agricultural supervisors—those on the front lines of managing labor and ensuring safety on the farm.
“We’ve spent the past five years really focusing on our supervisors because they are the ones that get so much done for our industry,” Kiehn said.
AgSafe has geared the development of supervisor resources not only toward safety, like preventing tractor and forklift accidents and pesticide handling, but also toward wage and hour issues, sexual harassment prevention, and how to be an effective leader.
“Many of us in our roles get regular professional development, so we’re working to make sure that our ag sector is getting that as well, especially those in supervisor roles. We’re making sure that we’re professionalizing our industry.”
One of AgSafe’s hallmark efforts is the Supervisors Development Academy, a 20-hour, five-part course that covers the essentials of leadership, communication, and team management. It’s part of a broader push to bring the kind of professional development common in other industries into agriculture.
Another resources is AgSafe’s safety conference, which draws more than 500 attendees and features over 50 classes in English and Spanish on topics ranging from health and safety to HR and leadership development.
AgSafe has trained over 150,000 people over the last 34 years. Natalie Gupton, vice president and COO, finds the growth reflects a rising demand for workplace safety, human resources support, and leadership development in agriculture.
As part of the growth, the team is developing new programming around stress management and emerging technologies like robotics and autonomous farm equipment.
“Farming is a very, very tough industry, whether you’re an owner or a worker. Giving people resources and ways they can manage that in the right way helps them personally and helps the employer as well, because a happy, healthy worker can translate into a more productive company,” Gupton said. “Our goal is to develop proactive training to ensure these technologies can be adopted safely and effectively.”
Support from Farm Credit—through AgWest Farm Credit, American AgCredit, CoBank, and Fresno Madera Farm Credit—has helped AgSafe keep costs down and participation up. The organizations, part of the nationwide Farm Credit System, are long-time partners of AgSafe.
“We never want cost to be a barrier for folks to participate. Farm Credit [is] one of the foundational partners that allows us to grow and maintain our helpline service,” Kiehn said.
AgSafe has been a trusted ally to the agricultural industry, offering vital safety and compliance training to farmworkers and employers alike, for over 30 years. Based in Modesto, the nonprofit has steadily grown its reach across California and beyond, and recent numbers show that momentum is only increasing.
Main image: Harvesting cherries. Photo: AgSafe
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