AGRICULTURAL PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
NEWSLETTER

Guest Worker Proposal.... As the harvest season winds down in most of the nation over the next two months, decisions on legislation pending in D.C. may significantly affect recruitment of agricultural labor beginning next year. The Agricultural Job Opportunity Benefits And Security Act Of 1998 (AgJOBS, aka to some as the new guest worker program) is the most recent proposal in Congress to create a job matching and work visa system that would serve the needs of agricultural employers and workers more effectively than the existing H-2A program.

New pages in the website of the UC Ag Personnel Management Program offer the complete text of AgJOBS as passed, the Senate floor discussion that preceded its adoption, links to position statements by worker and grower organizations, and other relevant documents. An introductory blurb, with links to all the goods, is the first item on the "What's New" page, which can be accessed directly at http://are.berkeley.edu/APMP/info/choice.html or through a click from the home page at http://are.berkeley.edu/APMP/.

Source:   Howard Rosenberg, UC Cooperative Extension Specialist, Agricultural Personnel Management, Ag-hrnet 9/3/98.

California Agricultural Risk Management Conference.... The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is co-sponsoring a series of education conferences to help the agricultural community manage risk. The first California Agricultural Risk Management Conference is 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., October 21, 1998, Doubletree Hotel, Sacramento, CA. This conference is designed for growers and agribusiness service professionals, such as bankers, consultants, cooperatives, packers, processors, commodity representatives, and university extension personnel. The importance of risk management has increased with the phasing out of farm programs. Educating and assisting the agricultural industry to become more aware of the various risk management techniques available to them is a priority of Congress and USDA.

Partners in the public and private sectors are sponsoring the conference. Sessions will focus on four different types of risk that producers encounter, respectively related to: (1) finance, credit, and estate planning; (2) labor supply, management and regulations; (3) water supply and management; and (4) environmental protection. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman has been invited to speak at the conference luncheon.

The California planning group includes staff from the Bank of America; California Department of Food and Agriculture; California Farm Bureau Federation; National Crop Insurance Services; University of California Agricultural Issues Center; UC Agricultural Personnel Management Program; UC Departments of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Davis and at Berkeley; Western Farm Credit; and the Risk Management Agency's Sacramento Regional Service Office.

In the farm labor sessions, panelists and moderators include Al French, USDA's Agricultural Labor Affairs Coordinator, Susan Gabbard, Project Director, National Agricultural Workers Survey, Jose Millan, Labor Commissioner, State of California, Howard Rosenberg (Moderator), UC Extension Labor Management Economist, Earl Hall, Farm Labor Contractor, Jim Bogart, General Counsel, Grower-Shipper Vegetable Association of Central California, Gregory Billikopf, UC Labor Management Farm Advisor, and Steve Sutter (Moderator), UC Personnel Management Farm Advisor.

Regional Director of USDA's Risk Management Agency, Bill Murphy stated, "This is an excellent opportunity for growers and agribusiness professionals to become more familiar with the various areas of risk a farm producer faces; the different risk management strategies and tools that are out there for managing risks; and how solutions proposed to farmers are interrelated. By enhancing awareness of risks and practical tools, we hope to ultimately help California farmers and ranchers improve their risk management skills."

Pre-registration is a must. The registration fee is $30 per person (includes lunch). Make check payable to "UC Regents" and send to: Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616. Write "Risk" in the margin of your check. MC/Visa (include card number and expiration date) are also OK. E-mail registration is "agissues@ucdavis.edu;" fax (530) 752-5451 is also available for registration. A registration confirmation letter will be sent. For more information, call (530)752-2320. Directions on back page.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, marital status, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA Office of Communications at (202) 720-2791. If you believe you have been discriminated against, write to the Manager, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, 14th and Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250.

From Stockton Area (Highway 99):   *Take Hwy 99 into Sacramento .  *When you reach Sacramento, take Business 80/Capital City Freeway East to Arden Way Exit.   *Go East on Arden, the Hotel is the first right at Point West Way.

From San Francisco Bay Area:   *Take Interstate 80 East to Sacramento.   *Go through downtown until you reach the Business 80/Capital City Freeway.   *Follow Business 80/Capital City Freeway East to Arden Way East.   *Make the first right at Point West Way.

From Stockton Area (Interstate 5):   *Take Interstate 5 North until you reach the I-5 and Hwy 80 split.   *Take business 80/Capital City Freeway East.   *Follow Business 80/Capital City Freeway East to Arden Way.   *Exit Arden Way to the East.   *Make the first right at Point West Way.

From Woodland Area:   *Take Interstate 5 South to the I-5 and Hwy 50 split.   *Take Hwy 50 East to the Business 80/Capital City Freeway and Hwy 50 split.   *Follow Business 80/Capital City Freeway until you reach the Arden Way exit.   * Exit Arden Way to the East. Make the First right at Point West Way.