Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/668668
www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower MAY 1, 2016 27 Progressive change Jaime Ramon, a WSDA employee who has worked in training and compliance for 10 years, said that when he started with the department, farm worker training consisted of about three or four classes over the course of the winter, "and one or two might be canceled." The program started during the last week of January and ran through the first week of April. Today, the number of classes has grown to 22, begin- ning each November. "We give them the tools. We give them the ideas, the best management practices for pesticide application," he said. "But we learn a lot from the trainees. They are doing the job. The response has been really good, but the more participation, the more we learn to make changes to do this better, too." Pre- and post-training surveys show that 70 percent of people attending the pesticide handler training are there for the first time, while 30 percent are returning for a refresher, said Flor Servin of Labor and Industries. For the train the trainer class, many more people repeat it to ensure they are up to date on the latest information. "It's an excellent source of information," Servin said. "I don't think there's any organization, or at least I'm not aware of any other organization, providing these services and information with the quality that we do, with the detail and with the methodology that we use. We are always changing and improving the programs, every year. I see that as a tremendous benefit, not just to workers but also to managers, growers and the industry." In December, the Washington State Tree Fruit Association recognized the farm worker education team — WSDA's Borges and Ramon and L&I's Servin and Ramon Benavides — with the Latino Leadership Award. In introducing the award winners, WSU Extension specialist Karen Lewis noted that the team's hands-on training on everything from worker protection standards to respirator use has improved safety, both at work and at home, for thousands of people. "They're not just numbers," she said. "These are peo- ple changing lives." • Flor Servin of the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries writes a problem for trainees to solve. SPRAYER TRAINING TIPS On next page, WSU researcher Gwen Hoheisel offers tips from the sprayer training workshop.