Michigan’s dairy farm apprenticeships are on the federal chopping block—like this one for Spanish speakers

An estimated 80% of dairy workers speak Spanish. These apprenticeships were opening up career opportunities in rural Michigan—until Trump’s federal cuts started, impacting farmers across the state.

MICHIGAN—Like many people who work in dairy, Michigan farmer Jessica Duran is an immigrant who grew up speaking Spanish. And she’s not alone—about 80 percent of the dairy workforce speaks Spanish, she estimated. Across the US, over half of dairy workers are immigrants, most from countries where Spanish is the most common language.

Duran is fluent in English, but many dairy workers are not. Dairy farmers in Wisconsin reported that four out of five immigrant dairy workers struggled to speak or read English. As director of the Managed Grazing Innovation Center, Duran is now helping more dairy workers improve their skills and move into leadership by offering the entire Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship program in Spanish as well as English.

Duran manages coursework for Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship (DGA), the first registered farming apprenticeship in the nation. The USDA Outreach and Assistance for Underserved and Veteran Farmers, Ranchers, and Foresters (the 2501 program) helped support the translation.

“Because most of the workforce speak Spanish, I feel like it’s going to have a huge impact,” Duran said.

The 2501 program received a significant funding boost from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden in 2021. Offering the apprenticeship program in Spanish, Duran said, will help diversify the next generation of leadership in dairy farming.

But today, the DGA is in trouble. Like many agricultural programs across the US, it’s facing the prospect of going under due to the recent freeze in federal funding. The ripple effect of losing the program could be extensive, leading to job loss in Michigan’s rural communities and stunting the future sustainability of dairy grazing operations across the country.

“Farmers are asking for more knowledge in this area,” Duran said of the Spanish-speaking apprenticeships. “It’s really difficult for small farms to find training for their employees.” By providing training and advancement opportunities to more workers, dairy farmers can capitalize on top talent and strengthen the industry as a whole. 

When Duran moved to Michigan to work at a large dairy after finishing veterinary school in Mexico City, she didn’t think it would be a long-term move. “I thought, I’m going to learn the language, the technology, how they do it here,” she said.

She thought she would return to Mexico and use her skills to teach Mexican dairy farmers like her grandparents. Instead, life happened. “I got married, I bought a house, and I stayed here,” she said.

Now, she lives on a small farm with four dogs, goats, chickens, and donkeys. “Even though I was born in the city, I was born to live in the country,” Duran said. 

While working for DGA, Duran also runs an agricultural translation business and does livestock welfare audits, “boots on the ground” work that keeps her listening to farmers’ needs. “I always need to be doing something,” she said with a laugh.

She first worked in Michigan at a large Ingham County dairy. The scale of the farm gave her a crash course in common dairy issues, but she wanted to learn more about a farming method known as managed grazing.

In managed grazing, farmers frequently move their cows through pasture instead of keeping them in a barn. The cows eat fresh grass and leave behind fertilizer that helps the grass regrow while the cows move to new pastures.

After four years, Duran moved to managing a small, organic, grass-fed dairy, also in Central Michigan. During her four years of management, this small dairy grew quickly, from milking about 100 cows with two robots to 250 cows using four robots.

While managing the grass-fed dairy, Duran also completed the DGA apprenticeship program. “I did learn a lot that I could apply to our farm at that time,” she said. “Also, it was nice to connect with other apprentices, people from other states that were working on a farm, and we could talk about their issues and how they resolve them. I think that connection is really important.”

Apprentices complete 300 hours of technical instruction in seven core classes. They also spend two years in at least 3,700 hours of on-farm employment.

Apprentices feed animals, move cows through pasture, milk, and trim hooves. They learn about immunizations, breeding, and everything else needed to keep cows healthy and milk flowing. DGA provides guidance and support, as well as funding to mentors to support competitive wages.

Managed Grazing Innovation Center classes are available both live and self-paced, as dairy employees often work rigorous and unbending schedules. Most dairies milk twice daily at approximately 12-hour intervals, making long days for many workers. Graziers may also move animals to fresh pasture up to several times per day.

DGA is just starting to share the word about Spanish-language classes available through the Managed Dairy Innovation Center. The program has now welcomed its first three apprentices who are completing the program entirely in Spanish.

“They are very excited,” Duran said. “They want to grow, and I’m pretty sure that, in their farms, they are going to grow into management positions. Now that we translated our program into Spanish, it creates more opportunities.”

The American Rescue Plan Act was a stimulus package passed by the 117th U.S. Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was signed into law in March of 2021 by President Biden to aid in the country’s economic recovery.