Farming Across Cultures Communication Program
Language
As shown by a graph from data collected in a survey of Franklin County Vermont dairy producers and their Latino employees, language levels that allow good communication between producers/managers and Spanish speaking employees are low.
Links
It is recommended that both producers and/or managers and Latino employees take language lessons to improve communication in the workplace. Due to high mobility of the average migrant worker, studying Spanish is in the best interest of the employer given that the employer will be on the farm much longer than any employee. The Agency of Agriculture has offered Spanish for agricultural employers in the past and Spanish is a course offered by many local colleges such as CCV. There are ways for producers and managers to study on their own as well such as purchasing an audio or video program.
There are a various online resources that can help a producer or manager learn a second language. This is just a start:
Last modified October 17 2011 10:24 AM