Producers that missed the first Washington Ag Safety Day February 1st in Yakima, will have another opportunity to hear the latest in farm safety February 22nd in Wenatchee. The full day event is by the Washington state Department of Labor & Industries.
“There’s specific training for people that work with pesticides, so that they can keep their certifications current, and things like that,” said safety expert Steve Yunker, who leads L&I’s Agriculture Compliance Team. “New for this year is, we’ve got some rule updates on our outdoor heat and wildfire smoke rule making processes. And one I haven’t seen on the thing before is suicide prevention training for farmers and farm workers.”
Topics of discussion include tractor safety, respiratory protection, ergonomics as well as overtime eligibility for farm workers. Yunker said agriculture is one of the only industries in which the Department of Labor & Industries has a full team devoted safety compliance. It emerged from the department’s Occupational Safety and Health division in 2021 when it received funding in the state budget.
“We’re looking for growers and workers, focusing on safety and health hazards that they encounter,” Yunker said. “There are sessions in English and Spanish.”
Data from the L&I construction and agriculture are the industries with the highest level of suicides in the state of Washington.
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