Antonio Castro-Escobar is an outgoing, even-handed “people person,” and his job as the agricultural worker protection manager with the Michigan Department of Agriculture suits him very well.

“I love working with lots of different people,” he says.

Michigan has 40,000 to 60,000 migrant and seasonal agricultural workers who help produce and harvest every crop that involves hand labor. Migrant workers are workers who move from place to place to work in agriculture. Seasonal workers are permanent residents who work in agriculture from season to season

A day in the life of Antonio, who has worked for the Michigan Department of Agriculture for 10 years, offers many opportunities for working with people. Antonio often uses the word “negotiate,” and as he outlines his day you can see the need for such a skill.

Born in Mexico, Antonio received a Bachelor of Science degree in Plant Pathology and Agronomy in that country. Then he came to the United States in 1988 and worked as an agricultural worker at Judson Farms in Palmyra, Michigan. He wanted to experience the life of an agricultural worker and to learn about American farming systems. He then attended Michigan State University, receiving two Master’s degrees—the first in Crop and Soil Sciences and the second in Integrated Pest Management and Entomology. Antonio became an American citizen in 1997.

It is Antonio’s job to help MDA aid the Environmental Protection Agency to implement federal policies concerning pesticide use, specifically the Federal Worker Protection Standard. Antonio helps to coordinate MDA’s inspection activities. “The Michigan Department of Agriculture does the actual inspections and enforces the EPA’s standards,” says Antonio. “Yet while we’re enforcing these standards we also listen and respond to the needs of the growers and to the concerns that advocacy groups have regarding agricultural workers’ exposure to pesticides.”

Antonio also fields formal complaints from workers about pesticides. Often a worker advocacy group brings the complaint. Such a complaint might involve, for example, the accusation that growers sprayed pesticides not only on the plants but where workers are living or working. Antonio and the MDA field inspectors work together to resolve a complaint. Sometimes Antonio and the field inspector for that area will go to the place where the complaint originated and interview the affected workers. MDA may take pesticide residue samples when needed, depending on the type of complaint. MDA’s Laboratory Division then tests these samples for pesticide residues.

Antonio’s people skills and ability to speak in both English and Spanish are invaluable. He can converse easily with Spanish-speaking workers. He notes that some workers are “very shy” about complaining, fearing they could lose their jobs and homes, or, in some cases, are afraid they might be deported. Antonio stresses MDA’s concern for worker health. MDA and a host of other state agencies and Michigan Farm Bureau are all part of the Interagency Migrant Services Committee. This committee shares information on policies that impact both agricultural workers and growers and finds a way to implement these policies fairly.

Besides his work as liaison with the EPA for the agricultural worker protection program, Antonio works with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the implementation of the federally restricted use pesticides record-keeping requirement of the 1990 Farm Bill. Antonio coordinates close to 200 record-keeping inspections each year. He randomly selects the applicators that will be inspected, reviews the inspections, and coordinates follow-up inspections in cases of non-compliance.

Antonio also works with both the EPA and the USDA in arranging for training and education for inspectors. He also conducts presentations at commodity and grower meetings.

A longtime member of Toast Notables, the Toastmaster Club begun by the Michigan Department of Agriculture, Antonio stresses the importance of communication in his job. He enjoys interacting with many different organizations and the people in his Lansing office and in the field. Besides his communication skills, Antonio’s ability to be even-handed stands him well. “I have to be fair,” he says.