Building a sustainable farm means more than treating the land and animals gently - it also means creating a workplace for employees that is safe, healthy and rewarding.

Jose Rico cares for cows in the farm's hospital barn.

Our commitment to socially responsible practices guides us daily in how we manage our farm's most valuable resource - our employees. Our farm and dairy operation provide 300 full-time jobs and 300-400 seasonal jobs. We emphasize promotion from within, providing training and opportunities for workers to move up in our organization. By providing stable jobs, Threemile Canyon Farms allows workers to put down roots, building strong and sustainable rural communities.

A bilingual workplace

Because 90 percent of our workers are native Spanish speakers, we joined with Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton to provide on-site language instruction at our farm. All farm employees, including managers, supervisors and laborers, use work time - at full pay - to attend. Our first priority was Spanish instruction for native English speakers, so Spanish could be the common language of communication. Our companion initiative builds English proficiency among our Spanish-speaking employees.

Employee benefits and programs

• Health insurance for workers, with optional coverage for family members.
• Optional dental insurance and eye care.
• Workers have access to voluntary, pre-tax medical and child-care accounts.
• Workers can participate in a 401k plan, with a company match.

'Our goal is to foster better communication between managers and workers, with mutual respect that helps us all succeed.'

Safety training and workplace compliance

Threemile Canyon Farms employs an innovative bilingual (English/Spanish) web-based compliance program that ensures that workers receive proper safety and other training, and receive necessary employment information about their workplace rights, procedures, policies and benefits.

The Compli system, developed in Portland, Ore., also provides a fair and dependable way to track worker improvement and training. Workers and managers also serve together on our Workplace Safety Committee, giving workers a direct voice in our efforts to constantly improve safety and workplace conditions.

Employee advancement and incentives

We emphasize training and promoting from within, so workers who begin as laborers can become supervisors and managers. Moving into skilled positions allows workers to increase their earning power. Worker incentives - including the bonuses available during the "bruise-free" portion of the potato harvest - allow workers to share in the farm's marketplace success.

Farm labor law

Threemile Canyon Farms continues to play a leadership role in seeking legislation that would create a state farm labor law to establish fair procedures for workers to decide whether they want third-party representation. We worked on this issue during the 2003 session and renewed our efforts for the 2005 session of the Oregon Legislature.

Francisco 'Paco' Linares, left, talks with Roberto Llamas during a dairy picnic. Llamas, a native Spanish speaker, says his lack of English skills has not kept him from advancement at the farm. Llamas is a lead milker and supervises 13 other workers.

Finding a common language in achievement

Francisco "Paco" Linares is the human resources director for our farm's dairy operations. Linares works closely with dairy employees to make sure they understand the farm's safety and work rules. He also keeps an eye out for ways to help workers gain more skills and move up the ranks, offering personal support and guidance. A native of Panama, he understands some of the cultural and language difficulties that new workers experience. "We want to make sure all of our workers can contribute their ideas - that's how we get better," he says.