Farm Labor Educator
UW-Madison Community and Environmental Sociology | UW-Madison Extension | SHALL - Soil Health and Agroecological Living Lab
Hometown: North Cape, WI
Sarah is a Farm Labor Educator, collaborating closely with farm owners, managers, and workers across the country to build human skills and create work environments that support safe and rewarding labor experiences. She completed her PhD in Environment & Resources through the Nelson Institute, where her dissertation took the form of an applied scholarship portfolio (aka: action oriented!). Sarah draws from her own past experiences working on smaller scale vegetable farms.
Talks:
What Employees Look for and Value in a Workplace
What motivates farmworkers in an industry known for instability and hard working conditions? This talk explores 4 factors that employees look for and value in a workplace, interspersing quotes and stories gathered through interviews, focus groups, and surveys conducted on a national scale.
Small-scale Agriculture: Labor Challenges and Opportunities
The history of agricultural labor in this country is complex. This talk considers early systemic and legislative factors that shaped the challenges – and opportunities – that exist in this space today, considering the challenges that both owners and workers face in trying to create sustainable livelihoods through farming.
Heat Safety: Keeping Everyone Safe on the Farm
As we see more days of high heat and unsafe air quality, what are farmers’ options when the to-do list doesn’t change with the weather? Without a federal heat safety rule, farmers carry a heavy burden of keeping everyone on the farm safe. This talk considers the current legislative landscape, before looking at farm-level practices and policies that can help create a culture of safety for everyone.