A Preliminary Analysis of Immigrant Cattle Feedyard Worker Perspectives on Job-Related Safety Training

Abstract

Immigrants comprise a large percentage of the agricultural labor force in the United States. They are a vulnerable worker population and often have fewer occupational and social protections. Latino immigrant cattle feedyard workers (N = 68; 59 men; mean age = 38.7 years) in the central Midwest reported on their perceptions and preferences for job-related safety training and practices. Preliminary findings indicate that approximately 40% of workers reported that they had not received any health or safety training from their current employer, and only about 13% had ever participated in any Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety training program. In-person training, videos, or shadowing another worker were the most frequent methods of safety training reported by those who had received training. More than 90% were interested in receiving more information about health and safety related to their job. Workers preferred that safety information be provided through in-person training at the job site, videos (particularly those accessible through media sources such as YouTube), and written materials. Specific topics that workers were interested in obtaining more information about included zoonoses, low-stress cattle handling, injury prevention, hazard and injury reporting, chemical and equipment safety, and teamwork. Furthermore, a majority of participants preferred to receive information in Spanish. Results may help guide the development of future materials and training strategies to better suit the needs of the growing immigrant workforce in production agriculture.

Identifying Safety Training Resource Needs in the Cattle Feeding Industry in the Midwestern United States

“…This study assessed safety training needs in the cattle feeding industry in the Midwestern part of the United States. Although others have explored safety training needs and practices among immigrant cattle feedyard workers [5], this is the first study to solicit information directly from feedyard employers. Based on our findings, there was a clear interest in safety training and the development of a feedyard certification program.…”

“…A 33-question survey was developed, in part based off previous work by Ramos et al (2018) [5] to assess current training practices and preferences in the cattle feeding industry. The survey was vetted by the project's Feedyard Safety Advisory Board and each item was discussed to ensure it was relevant to the target audience.…”

“…The registered capacity of the feedyard, the maximum number of cattle that an operator can feed at any one time during the year, was recorded as a continuous variable and later categorized into small (less than 1000 head), medium (between 1000-7999 head), large (8000-32,000 head), and extra-large (over 32,000 head) based on United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) categories and those used in a previous study [5,15]. We believed that size of the operation may influence not just the employer's ability to provide safety training to workers but also their interest in specific methodologies and topics [14].…”

“…This represents 53% of all feedyards and 49% of feedyard workers in the U.S. The majority of the feedyards and employees in this region were located in Nebraska (251 feedyards; 2943 employees) and Kansas (141 feedyards; 2968 employees) [4], and it is estimated that the workforce consists of about 50% immigrant workers, many of whom have low levels of formal education and limited English language proficiency [5]. Agricultural injury surveillance data from this same seven state region found that 37.7% of all reported injuries resulted from contact with livestock [6].…”

The Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome among Private Dentists in Klang Valley, Malaysia: A Cross-sectional Study

“…Occupational hazard is a term used to define the risks associated with workplace environment. It includes short term physical injury and prolonged risks that may further cause occupational diseases such as cancer and musculoskeletal disorders [1]. Notably, carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is listed as one of occupational diseases in the European Union's list since 2003 and it is an occupational hazard to dental practitioners [2,3].…”