Penn State Extension celebrates milestone in engaging Spanish-speaking growers

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Arturo Diaz joined Twin Springs Fruit Farm in Adams County nearly 25 years ago, back when the orchard grew only four to five types of apples. Today, it offers 12 to 14 varieties. Diaz, who manages fruit and vegetable field operations, credited the farm’s expansion and variety for keeping him around.

“I like to learn about everything,” he said. Besides apples, the farm grows peaches, blueberries, raspberries, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, tomatoes, garlic, onions and other crops.

Like many growers, Diaz recognized the need to stay informed about market shifts, new practices and technology advancements through continuing education. However, opportunities to learn in his native language of Spanish often are limited.

To address this need, Penn State Extension’s horticulture team and partners offered a full day of Spanish language educational sessions during the recent Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention in Hershey. This year marked the 15th anniversary of the Spanish sessions, with Diaz in attendance since the beginning.

Latinos make up 75% of the agricultural workforce in the U.S., noted Maria Gorgo-Simcox, a bilingual horticulture extension educator. She pointed out a national trend of Latinos transitioning from employees to managers and owners of farms, underscoring their increasing importance in agricultural policy.

“These operators and their families make essential contributions to the well-being of Pennsylvanians through their work,” Gorgo-Simcox said. She chaired and served as a speaker for the Spanish sessions at the conference.

Another participant who has attended the Spanish sessions since 2009 is Oscar Mateo, who works at Hollabaugh Bros. Inc., a fruit and vegetable farm in Biglerville. He said that every year, he learns something new he can apply to everyday life. This year, he found the sessions on blueberry pruning and apple pruning especially useful. Mateo manages the farm’s irrigation operations and engages in tasks such as pruning and apple picking.

“Our goal is to produce the most beautiful apples,” he said.

With the frequently changing regulations in fruit and vegetable production, Mateo stressed the importance of continuing education to keep informed and properly apply new requirements. He said the opportunity to learn in Spanish means a lot to him.

“I feel really cozy in those rooms because talking about your work in your own language is amazing,” he said. “I can understand a little in English but if you explain in Spanish, I can understand 100%.”

He added that some of his coworkers do not speak English, so the chance to learn in Spanish is especially crucial.

“Sometimes for us, it’s hard to understand in English and we don’t learn in the same way as when somebody’s teaching you in your language,” he said.

Apart from the language barrier, Gorgo-Simcox noted that Latino agricultural professionals face substantial challenges due to their unfamiliarity with the U.S. agricultural system and federal agencies such as the Farm Service Agency. This lack of knowledge can make it difficult to obtain loans or financial assistance, limiting their potential to start a farm. Participant feedback confirms the demand for this information, as attendees stressed the helpfulness of insights shared during the session on securing loans and starting a farm.

Since the inaugural session, the program has grown in scope and attendance. In 2009, about 10 to 15 Spanish-speaking horticulturists attended. This year, 90 participants were on hand to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the initiative — 15 more attendees than the previous year.

Experts from other universities have joined forces with Penn State to expand bilingual education efforts. Extension educators and faculty from Virginia Tech, the University of Maryland, West Virginia University, Rutgers and Cornell also support the program.

The recent sessions included educational presentations on topics relevant to fruit and vegetable production, including blueberry pruning, common vegetable insect pests, apple pruning, apple maturity testing and diseases in cucurbits and Solanaceae. Gorgo-Simcox said that topics are chosen based on participants’ feedback from the previous year.

In addition to production-related topics, the programming included leadership training aimed at helping employees grow into managerial roles on the farm.

“Often in agriculture, supervisors are chosen for their production knowledge, but that doesn’t guarantee leadership skills,” said Gorgo-Simcox, who co-led the training. The session addressed how to supervise and manage others and conflict and stress management in the workplace.

“Our goal has always been to provide excellent professional development opportunities in Spanish for Latino farmworkers and farm owners,” Gorgo-Simcox said.

She discussed the possibility of extending the Spanish language sessions from one to two days in the future. Another goal is to replicate this model in other agricultural sectors, such as the green industry.

“I hear this over and over again — that this opportunity is very important for them, and they truly appreciate our efforts to provide this information in their native language so they can communicate and understand better,” Gorgo-Simcox said.

She also emphasized the sense of camaraderie, as many participants have attended this session for 15 years and return every year.

“There’s a feeling of family,” she said. “They trust us, they trust our information and they know they can reach out whenever they need anything. They have our cell phone numbers. There is a sense of community and trust with Penn State Extension because we are going above and beyond to try to provide information they need.”

Gorgo-Simcox also co-leads Penn State’s Latinx Agricultural Network, a group that seeks to enhance engagement and continue to provide support for Pennsylvania’s Latino agricultural community. This team of educators, students, faculty, administrators and grassroots advisers develops culturally relevant extension materials, in-person workshops and webinars in Spanish.

“Based on our research of learning preferences, we try to make courses as interactive and hands-on as possible,” said Tara Baugher, a retired tree fruit extension educator in Adams County who engaged with Spanish-speaking growers through applied research and extension outreach. “Our research with next generation Latino horticulturists also revealed that Facebook is one of the most effective ways to communicate about educational opportunities, and so bilingual programming is shared on Facebook."

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the sessions, a catered lunch was sponsored by Penn State Extension’s Latinx Agricultural Network and West Virginia University Extension.

Mateo thanked the organizers of the training for their significant effort and preparation.

“These sessions are very important for me, my relatives, my coworkers and my community in general,” he said. “I hope they don’t stop the sessions, and I hope they can provide more sessions in Spanish in the future.”

A Spanish version of this story is available on the Penn State Extension website. Ingrid Garcia, administrative support assistant with Penn State Extension, provided the translation.