AG-HRnet, an electronic forum, was begun recently by APMP Farm Advisor Gregory Billikopf to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information on all aspects of agricultural labor management. The network, which is open to anyone who would like to participate actively or just "listen in," now has more than 100 subscribers. There is no charge to join AG-HRnet. Those with access to an Internet e-mail system may subscribe by sending a message to: Listproc@ucdavis.edu. Leave subject line blank; in the body of the message type "Subscribe ag-hrnet" followed by your first name and last name (no quotes in actual message). For more information, phone Gregory at 209/525-6654 or send an e-mail message to: gebillikopf@ucdavis.edu.
Labor Management in Ag: Cultivating Personnel Productivity. The 170-page, soft-cover manual, written by Gregory Billikopf and published in Stanislaus County, is directed primarily to farmers and farm labor contractors. The book emphasizes labor management principles related to the selection, promotion, motivation, pay, and supervision of agricultural personnel, from field worker to farm manager. To order, send a check for $10 (includes tax and mailing) payable to Farm Advisors' Trust Fund, to Gregory at UC Cooperative Extension, 733 County Center III Court, Modesto, CA 95355 (phone: 209/525-6654).
Safety training packets. The Ag Health and Safety Center and Ag Health Promotion project at the University of California, Davis, have produced three bilingual training packets under the direction of Dr. James Grieshop: (1) Farm Safety Training: Field Sanitation and Worker Personal Cleanliness; (2) Tractor Safety; and (3) A Driver Safety Training Tool: La Lotería del Manejo Seguro, Publication 3363. The first two include such training aids as instructor's guides, audio cassettes, brochures, and photographs; the third, a training game similar to bingo, includes 54 "playing cards," 16 "bingo cards," and a bilingual instruction booklet. (1) and (2) are available at $15 per packet from University of California, Department of Applied Behavioral Sciences, Cooperative Extension, Davis, CA 95616 (phone: 916/752-2606 or 916/752-3007). (3), Publication 3363, at $10 per copy, can be ordered from ANR Publications, University of California, 6701 San Pablo Ave., Oakland, CA 94608-1239 (phone: 800/994-8849 within California, 510/642-2431 outside California; fax: 510/643-5470. Make checks payable to UC Regents.
Bailando con Peligro/Dancing with Danger. North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service has published a Spanish/English fotonovela, "a pesticide worker protection story," to be given to agricultural workers as a supplement to the pesticide safety training required by the EPA Worker Protection Standard. With photographs and dialogue, the booklet tells the story of a tobacco harvest worker who becomes ill from pesticides and learns how to protect himself in the future. Discussion questions and an exercise are included. The booklet, AG509, can be ordered for $1.00 per copy (make check payable to N.C. State University) from: Publications, Campus Box 7603, N.C. State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7603.
Ag safety supply catalog. In addition to its regular stock of safety products, the 1994-95 Gempler's Safety Catalog contains a special section on posters, signs, training materials, reproductions of official Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publications, decontamination supplies and equipment, and personal protective equipment needed for compliance with the Worker Protection Standard (WPS). Among its WPS materials, the catalog lists the complete, 144-page, official EPA How to Comply manual on a scale from $1.50 each for 1 to 11 copies, to $.55 each for orders of 1000 or more. For more information, phone Gempler's at 800/382-8473.
Two ERS reports analyze farm data. The reports by the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, are available from ERS-NASS, 341 Victory Dr., Herndon, VA 22072 (phone: 800/999-6779). Make checks or money orders payable to ERS-NASS; telephone orders paid by Visa or MasterCard are also accepted.
A Profile of Hired Farmworkers, 1992 Annual Averages. AER-693, 15 pages, $9.00. An Agricultural Economic Report (September 1994) by Jack L. Runyan, of the ERS Rural Economy Division, examines demographic and employment characteristics, using data from the Current Population Survey earnings microdata file. According to the report, an average of 848,000 persons 15 years of age and older did hired farm work each week in 1992 in the United States. Farm workers continued to have lower median weekly earnings ($200) than all wage and salary workers ($380), and their earnings appeared to fall farther behind all wage and salary workers between 1990 and 1992. The Pacific region (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington) employed 26 percent of all U.S. hired farm workers.
Women Farm Landlords in the United States. AIB-681, 11 pages, $7.50. Denise M. Rogers and Ann M. Vandeman examine the extent of women's involvement in agricultural leasing, the characteristics of women landlords, and their participation in management decisions on their leased land. The Agriculture Information Bulletin (November 1993) reports that 40 percent of private (noncorporate and nonpublic) agricultural landlords are women, and they control 40 percent of the privately held farmland rented out. The information is based on the 1988 Agricultural Economics and Land Ownership Survey, a follow-on to the 1987 Census of Agriculture.
Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective. Wayne A. Cornelius, Philip Martin, James F. Hollifield, editors. The book presents results of a three-year comparative study of immigration policy and policy outcomes in nine industrialized countries by a team of researchers. The project was led by Wayne Cornelius, Director of the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies. Published in association with Stanford University Press, the book is available for $17.95 (paper) or $49.50 (hard cover). Further information can be obtained from the Center's Publications Department, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0510, La Jolla, CA 92093-0510 (phone: 619/534-1160; fax: 619/534-6447).
Comparison of Immigration and Refugee Policy Regimes Among Major Western Nations: A Documented Briefing. Publication DRU-757-FF/CC (72 pages), by Georges Vernez, of the RAND Center for Research on Immigration Policy, was prepared as a working draft for a three-day seminar held in Russia last May. The "overview briefing" discusses key components of immigration and refugee policy, presents the main differences in policies of seven major countries, considers selected outcomes of these policy regimes, and looks ahead to future migration pressures and the changes in policies they may generate. For further information on the publication, contact Distribution Services, RAND, 1700 Main St., P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 (phone: 310/451-7002; fax: 310/451-6915; Internet: order@rand.org).
Surveying Immigrant Communities: Policy Imperatives and Technical Challenges. Also published by RAND (see listing above), Report MR-247-FF (178 pages), by Julie DaVanzo, Jennifer Hawes-Dawson, R. Burciaga Valdez, and Georges Vernez, describes in detail a 1991 pilot study - the Los Angeles Community Survey of Salvadorans and Filipinos. Results of the study suggest that a large-scale, national survey designed specifically to provide useful data on immigrant families and their adaptation processes would be feasible.
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