Agriculture remains one of the most hazardous industries, with high injury and turnover rates exacerbated by psychosocial hazards, communication barriers and limited leadership training for supervisors, particularly those who only speak Spanish. This project seeks to strengthen agricultural workplace safety by expanding leadership development opportunities and creating safety leadership training and tools to improve workplace culture. In partnership with the
Agricultural Leadership Program, the Washington State Department of Agriculture, and the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, we seek to develop a new safety and leadership training module that introduces peer mentoring and creates practical tools to enhance communication, trust, and worker participation in safety decision-making. We will establish an Expert Working Group, composed of agricultural leaders to ensure that training addresses industry needs and
fosters long-term leadership growth. We will use surveys, interviews, and case studies to measure the impact of these efforts and co-develop best practices. This project aims to create lasting change, supporting a safer and more inclusive agricultural workforce. This project partners with agricultural-serving organizations, supervisors and managers, and trainers to develop safety leadership training and tools that are accessible to all agricultural leaders in Washington State.
Principal Investigators: Maria Blancas, PNASH Principal Investigator for CLIMA, Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Washington; and Eddie Kasner, PNASH Outreach Director, UW Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Washington.
Washington SHIP Grant 2025-2026