Volume 6, Number 1, Winter-Spring 1997

Resources

California pesticide safety regulations, as revised in accord with federal Worker Protection Standard requirements and officially adopted early this year, are part of a 29-page booklet, California Pesticide Worker Safety Regulations -- Revised 1997, prepared by Steve Sutter. The booklet includes (1) these regulations ("Subchapter 3 -- Pesticide Worker Safety," California Code of Regulations), (2) definitions of selected terms in the regulations, and (3) a directory of County Ag Commissioners. The regulations are now are on-line, as well, in the website of UC Ag Personnel Management Program at http://are.berkeley.edu/APMP/links/callaw.html. The printed version is available for $4 (payable to County of Fresno) from Steve Sutter, UC Area Farm Advisor, 1720 S. Maple Ave., Fresno, CA 93702.

ALRA information packet. The Agricultural Labor Relations Board has published brochures and a handbook on the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act in clear, reader-friendly format for employers and employees. Contained in a colorful folder, the brochures cover farm workers' rights, as well as employer questions and answers on compliance, access, remedies/settlements, elections, and unfair labor practices. The 34-page handbook on the ALRA gives more detailed information on the Act, whom it applies to, definitions of terms, and the functions and procedures of the Board. The information packet can be obtained by phoning the ALRB at 800/449-3699.

California Department of Industrial Relations 1994-95 Biennial Report. A Tradition of Innovation, now available on DIR's home page (http://www.dir.ca.gov) as well as in printed form, describes the activities, accomplishments, and services of each area of the department, as well as information on specific DIR initiatives. Printed copies may be requested from: Department of Industrial Relations, Office of the Director, P.O. Box 420603, San Francisco, CA 94142, Attention: Biennial Report. Or phone 415/972-8844.

Use of Public Assistance and Private Aid by Legal and Unauthorized Immigrants Who Work in Agriculture, Working Paper 806, October 1996, by Enrico Moretti, Graduate Student, Department of Economics, and Jeffrey M. Perloff, Professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley. The 34-page report is based on data from the U.S. Department of Labor National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS). The paper can be read and printed out as a PDF file on the World-Wide Web through the University of Minnesota AgEcon Search database at: http://agecon.lib.umn.edu/ucb/wp806.pdf.

Human Resource Management for Golf Course Superintendents, by Robert A. Milligan and Thomas R. Maloney, Department of Agricultural, Resource, and Managerial Economics, Cornell University, discusses management style, planning and goal setting, organizational structures, control standards, recruiting, employee selection, training, performance management, and leadership. It serves as the reference for the organizational management section of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) Certification exam. The book, Ref. No. 50705, is available for $35 ($20 to GCSAA members) from GCSAA Distribution Center, 1650 Bluegrass Lakes Pkwy., Alpharetta, GA 30201-7714; fax, 770/442-9742; phone, 800/974-2722.

Voices of California Farmers: Effects of Regulations is a 150-page report of a 1995 telephone survey in which 263 growers were asked 83 questions about government regulations and regulatory enforcement. The report concentrates on farmers' perceptions of and attitudes about (1) attributes and impacts of the regulatory system and (2) possibilities for improvement. The report (VOI-1) can be obtained from Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616; fax, 916/752-5451; phone, 916/752-2320. Price: $15 by check (payable to UC Regents) or credit card.

National Pesticide Telecommunications Network. NPTN is a pesticide information service available toll-free to callers in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It is co-sponsored by Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide objective, science-based information about pesticide-related subjects including pesticide products, pesticide poisonings, toxicology, and environmental chemistry to the general public, as well as to professionals. NPTN pesticide specialists, who have toxicology and environmental chemistry training, receive more than 2,000 calls per month, primarily from homeowners requesting information about pesticides for home use. In pesticide emergencies, NPTN connects callers directly to the Oregon Poison Control Center or the National Animal Poison Control Center. NPTN also directs callers to information for pesticide incident investigations, safety practices, cleanup and disposal, and laboratory analyses. Sources include EPA documents, USDA Cooperative Extension publications, the scientific literature, and a pesticide product database. Non-copyrighted materials are mailed or faxed for a nominal fee. Information is also available through the NPTN Internet site at: http://ace.orst.edu/info/nptn/. NPTN can be reached from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Telephone: 800/858-7378. Fax: 541/737-0761. Email: mailto:nptn@ace.orst.edu.

Pesticide Safety Information Series (PSIS) leaflets now on-line. All 11 agricultural PSIS leaflets are now available, in English and Spanish, through the website of the Department of Pesticide Regulation. Recently revised to meet state and federal regulatory changes, these references are used in the pesticide handler and field worker training required by California. The downloadable files are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, so screen displays and printouts have the same look as hard copies available from DPR and county agricultural commissioners. The on-line versions are in the "Current DPR Publications" section of the website (http://www.cdpr.ca.gov).

Profile of Hired Farmworkers

An average of 779,000 persons 15 years of age and older in the United States performed hired farm work each week as their primary job in 1994, according to A Profile of Hired Farmworkers, 1994 Annual Averages, Agricultural Economic Report No. 748, by Jack L. Runyan, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Rural Economy Division. An additional 66,000 persons did hired farm work each week as their secondary job (a new classification for hired farm workers in 1994).