By Seth Truscott, College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences
KENNEWICK, Wash. – Helping ensure worker safety at Pacific Northwest dairies, Amber Adams Progar, a dairy management specialist at Washington State University, will join experts at the 15th annual Agriculture Safety Day, Tuesday, Feb. 5, in Kennewick.
Workers in the agriculture industry encounter a wide range of physical and chemical hazards in their daily work. Agriculture Safety Day provides training in how to manage these hazards and stay safe. The event is is presented by the Washington State Governor’s Industrial Safety and Health Advisory Board and the Washington Department of Labor and Industries.
Adams Progar, an assistant professor in WSU’s Department of Animal Sciences, will focus on the most common injuries for dairy workers: slips, trips, falls and animal‑related injuries.
“Every employee learns differently,” she said. “Our team is developing effective training tools that help them not only learn how to be safe, but retain this knowledge and make changes for a safer working environment.”
Discussing effective training tools and methods for dairy worker safety, Adams Progar is joined by experts from the Washington State Dairy Federation, Lloyd’s Northwest, the Department of Labor and Industries, and the University of Washington.
“I encourage members of the Northwest dairy industry to participate in this event, because it’s important to be part of the conversation,” she said. “We want to know what types of safety trainings are working well, which ones are effective at fostering a safety culture, and what still needs be developed. I ask dairy farmers, managers and employees to join our team as we work towards building a dairy safety network.”
Learn more about the conference the Agriculture Safety Day website.
