Build a Farm Culture for the Future
Growing Produce recently posted an article, How to Avoid a Farmworker-Related Scandal. The author cites the importance of addressing farm culture, communication and supervisor training and urges growers to “value and implement relevant training programs.” While the article’s purpose is to help growers avoid reputational damage, the advice has broader significance at a time when margins are small, labor shortages rampant and food safety outbreaks are everyday news.
The article appeared just days before the Produce Marketing Association and the United Fresh Produce Association unveiled their Ethical Charter on Responsible Labor Practices, which also emphasizes the importance of improving labor-management communication and embracing a culture of continuous improvement.
While both of these sources offer big ideas about shifting culture and increasing communication, growers might be left wondering exactly how to take the first steps to accomplish these goals.
Thankfully, there are tools in the industry to create greater transparency and help prevent and mitigate issues as they arise on farming operations. Equitable Food Initiative is one such tool. EFI’s rigorous certification process includes more than 300 standards for labor practices, food safety and pest management. Workforce development improves communication, conflict resolution, problem-solving and collaboration, which drives everything from productivity to food safety and so much more.
With 40 hours of facilitated Leadership Team training, EFI-certified farms engage their workers to develop a deeper understanding of worker rights and create open and positive lines of communication across all levels of the workforce. Engaged workers who see improvements made from their requests have an increased sense of belonging and commitment to the business, which results in higher retention, easier recruitment and a more productive working environment. Additionally, the workforce is better trained and able to implement change or bring up an issue before it becomes a crisis.
As one farm human resources manager noted, “When managers and workers come together as part of the Leadership Team, the workers will often have the best solutions to the problems the team is collaborating on. And when the workers hear from management how much their expertise is valued and how management wouldn’t have been able to come up with a good solution without them, they feel a greater sense of ownership and pride for the good of the company.”
The fresh produce industry has made a commitment to improving labor practices through the Ethical Charter, yet we know that problems can arise at any time in produce operations. That’s why now is the time to take steps to embrace a culture of continuous improvement and mitigate labor and food safety issues.
One grower summed up the situation best when he said, “We thought we were doing the right thing by our farmworkers, but until we included them in the conversation we didn’t know how we could do better.”
That’s where EFI certification can make a difference, raising standards for food safety, farmworker communication and collaboration with a commitment to continuous improvement. And in a tight labor market, farms that engage their workforce are more likely to attract and retain workers and work together to improve business performance.
What steps will you take on your farming operation to address culture, communication and training – not just to avoid reputational damage, but to strengthen your position?
For more information on the EFI Program, contact Director of Business and New Product Development Kevin Boyle at kboyle@equitablefood.org.
