Partnership in Action: Supporting Heat Safety for California Farmworkers

Earlier this year, Farm Bureau members from across the country gathered in California for the American Farm Bureau Federation conference and rolled up their sleeves for a service project with a purpose: assembling heat illness prevention kits for California farmworkers. The kits, filled with practical items including sun hats, reusable water bottles, cooling towels and other heat-safety resources, were designed to help workers stay safe during California’s hot agricultural season.

This morning, those kits made their way into the hands of farmworkers in the Central Valley. Farm Employers Labor Service (FELS), in partnership with the California Farmworker Foundation (CFF), met directly with farmworkers to distribute the bags and conduct a tailgate training focused on heat illness prevention.

The training reinforced important practices for preventing heat illness in the field, including staying hydrated, recognizing the signs and symptoms of heat illness, using available shade and knowing how to respond when a coworker shows signs of heat-related illness.

The partnership brought together organizations serving California agriculture from different perspectives. CFF works to create opportunities for farmworkers to develop personal and professional skills, while FELS has partnered with California farm employers on workplace compliance and human resources management since 1970.

What began as a hands-on service project among Farm Bureau members became a practical resource for the people working in California agriculture. By pairing the heat illness prevention kits with face-to-face training, FELS and CFF were able to turn that effort into an opportunity for education, outreach and worker safety in the field.