“As progressive as we are in agriculture, especially when it comes to our adoption of technology, I don’t think we are as progressive sometimes in our ways of thinking – in our perspectives, in our attitudes, in our mindsets,” said Katie Dotterer. Dotterer grew up on a Pennsylvania dairy farm and for over a decade owned her own dairy in Maryland.
Dotterer now owns her own business called AgvoKate, where she offers in-person English as a second language (ESL) and online Spanish classes to adult stakeholders in agriculture: farmworkers, farm owners, veterinarians, hoof trimmers, milk testers and nutritionists, among others. Dotterer is currently developing online ESL classes.
Beyond teaching languages, Dotterer aims to narrow the cultural gap that she observes between American farm owners and/or employees and their Spanish-speaking employees. She provided some tips to help bridge that gap.
A Little Context
According to Dotterer, 80% of the agricultural workforce in the U.S. speaks Spanish, and the U.S. has the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world. In 2021, Hispanics made up nearly one in five people. The U.S. population grew by 23.1 million from 2010 to 2021 with Hispanics accounting for 52% of this increase.
“This brings us to cultural awareness,” Dotterer said. “A lot of people are shocked, maybe they aren’t. But if you look around … there’s native Spanish speakers almost everywhere you go.”
Strive for Cultural Awareness
Cultural awareness is a person’s understanding of the differences between themselves and people from other countries or backgrounds, especially differences in attitudes and beliefs. Cultural awareness includes language, customs, rituals, the arts, behaviors, religion and food.
Dotterer believes people should approach other cultures with a sense of humility and open- mindedness. While it’s okay to be ignorant, it’s not okay to be arrogant (with an exaggerated sense of one’s own sense of importance and abilities).
“And being ignorant is okay to a point as long as you are willing to fix the ignorance,” Dotterer said.
Get the Nomenclature Right
One of the biggest questions Dotterer gets is about the correct terminology to use when referring to native Spanish speakers. The two most commonly used terms are Latino and Hispanic. Both terms can be used for native Spanish speakers with the exception of two countries – Brazil and Spain.
Latino includes Portuguese-speaking Brazilians, but it does not include people from Spain. The term Hispanic is the opposite – it includes Spain but does not include Brazil.
“It is really important because I have met quite a few people from Brazil in the dairy industry, especially on the West Coast. In case you encounter Brazilians or people who speak Portuguese, ‘Hispanic’ does not include Brazil,” Dotterer said.
The term Latino includes males or a group of mixed males and females while Latina is used for a group of females. A newer term, Latinx, can also be used and provides the ability to opt out of the gender binary inherent to the Spanish language.
“If you want to stay on the safe side, just say a native Spanish speaker. That’s an okay term,” Dotterer said. It’s also okay to ask people their preference.
Katie Dotterer (aka AgvoKate) leading one of her online classes. She is in favor of bridging the cultural gap between workers who speak different languages. Photo courtesy of Katie Dotterer
Don’t Be an Arrogant Jerk
Dotterer admitted that this heading can be controversial, but she has heard conversations regarding Spanish-speaking agricultural employees that she believes are completely unacceptable.
She recounted hearing a farm owner refer to their workers as Mexican when they were not all from Mexico. Just because someone speaks Spanish and works on a farm in the U.S. does not mean they are from Mexico.
A bank teller once informed Dotterer that “the Spanish come here to cash their checks.” She politely provided a lesson on nationality vs. language – Spanish is a language while Honduran, Mexican or Guatemalan are nationalities.
Dotterer has heard time and time again that if people live in the U.S., they should speak English. However, there is no official language in the U.S., as it has historically been known as the melting pot.
“I like to tell people that native speakers when they come here actually do want to learn English. The majority of them do, but we don’t exactly have conducive avenues for them to do so,” she said. English is also a very difficult language to learn.
Bridge the Gap with Holidays
Celebrating holidays is a good way to connect with people, in Dotterer’s opinion. Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a celebration of life and death originating in Mexico but now celebrated across many Spanish-speaking countries. A common misconception is that Día de los Muertos is Mexico’s Halloween. The differences are vast, including the fact that the origins of Halloween are Irish whereas the origins of Día de los Muertos are Aztec.
(Dotterer recommended watching the 2017 animated movie “Coco” to gain a cultural awareness of this important holiday.)
Cinco de Mayo, however, is not a popular holiday in Mexico. Spanish-speaking employees may be surprised if their workplace were to throw a party on this day as it is only celebrated in one of Mexico’s states. It does not celebrate Mexican independence as is commonly believed, but rather Mexico’s 1862 victory at the Battle of Puebla.
Learn Some Spanish
“One of the biggest ways to show respect for another culture is to learn some key words and phrases in their language,” Dotterer said. She always believes in learning some Spanish since it’s becoming increasingly common for a Spanish speaker to be the first point of contact on a farm rather than the owner.
Dotterer believes that a person is never too old to learn a new language and having even a basic understanding of the language can transform the relationships between native Spanish speakers and native English speakers.
“If you’re not learning, you’re not living. Embrace the differences, reach across those cultural borders and you’ll open yourself up to a whole new world of possibilities and experiences,” Dotterer concluded.
Learn more about Dotterer’s classes at agvokate.com.
by Sonja Heyck-Merlin
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