High Temperatures Predicted this Coming Week – Ways to Prevent Heat Stress

OSHA Safe + Sound Header for Heat Illness Prevention

Heat exposure for agricultural laborers should be a consideration when working outside and even in non-airconditioned buildings. When a person’s ability to adapt to heat stress is exceeded, exposure can lead to reduced productivity, mistakes in job performance, increased workplace incidents, and/or heat-related illnesses. Each person’s heat tolerance varies and several factors including type of physical activity, fitness level, underlying health issues, temperature, sun exposure, air movement (wind), and humidity can dramatically impact the potential for heat stress. To determine the level of heat risk, employers should consider the job, the environment, and the worker.

Evaluate the Risk of Heat Stress:
Monitoring the environmental conditions during work times to make management decisions for workers is an important part of preventing heat-related illnesses. Temperature is not the only factor in implementing heat stress management. Humidity is another important consideration. The heat index is a measure of how hot it feels when the relative humidity is factored in with the actual air temperature.

An environmental heat assessment should account for the following factors: air temperature, humidity, radiant heat from sunlight or other artificial heat sources, and air movement. OSHA recommends the use of wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) monitor to measure workplace environmental heat. OSHA provides this link to calculate the WBGT for a specific location. There is also a NIOSH/OSHA Heat App for Android and iPhone devices that uses the Heat Index as a screening tool.

Management Suggestions for Enhancing Heat Tolerance:
Acclimatization (to heat) is a process of adaptation that involves a stepwise adjustment to heat over a week or sometimes longer. An acceptable schedule for achieving acclimatization is to limit occupational heat exposure to one-third of the workday during the first and second days, one-half of the workday during the third and fourth days, and two-thirds of the workday during the fifth and sixth days. The acclimatization procedure should be repeated if a person misses workdays after days off due to illness, vacation, or other reasons for missing one week or more of job duties.

Fluid replacement:
Provide adequate drinking water for all employees. Recommend to employees they drink plenty of water before work shifts, during work, and after work. Simply relying on feeling thirsty will not ensure adequate hydration. To replace the four to eight quarts of sweat that may be produced in hot environments, people require one-half to one cup of water every 20 minutes of the workday. Potable drinking water kept at a temperature of 59°F or less is recommended.

Physical Fitness: Physical fitness is extremely important. The rate of acclimatization is a function of the individual’s physical fitness. The unfit worker takes 50 percent longer to acclimate than one who is fit.

Increasing Safe Work Practices:
To find management and guidance tools for determining whether to implement heat stress management plans refer to the CDC documents on Heat Stress and Work/Rest Schedules.

The following list of management options should be considered to prevent heat stress for workers:

  • Limit exposure time. Schedule as many physical work activities as practical for the coolest part of the day (early morning or late afternoon). Employ additional help or increase mechanical assistance, if possible, to lighten individual workloads.
  • Minimize heat exposure by taking advantage of natural or mechanical ventilation (increased air velocities up to 5 mph increase the rate of evaporation and thus the rate of heat loss from the body) and heat shields/shade when applicable.
  • Take rest breaks at frequent, regular intervals, preferably in a cool environment sheltered from direct sunlight. Anyone experiencing extreme heat discomfort should rest immediately and be provided with first aid for heat stress.
  • Wear clothing that is permeable to air and loose fitting. Generally, less clothing is desirable in hot environments, except when the air temperature is greater than 95°F or a person is standing next to a radiant heat source. In these cases, covering exposed skin can reduce the risk of heat stress.
  • A buddy system may also be helpful. It depends on a fellow worker’s ability to spot the early signs of heat stress, such as irritability, confusion, or clumsiness. A ready means of cooling should be available in work areas where heat illness might occur.

Rutgers Focus on Fiber Hemp Symposium

2024 Rutgers Fiber Hemp Symposium. January 11-12

Register Here

 

Rutgers Focus on Fiber Hemp Symposium

2024 Rutgers Fiber Hemp Symposium. January 11-12

Register Here

 

Corn Tar Spot Found in New Jersey

Damaged leaf

Corn Tar Spot. Photo Credit: Alyssa A. Collins, Penn State.

The presence of Corn Tar Spot (Phyllachora maydis) has been confirmed in New Jersey. Laboratory examination of a corn sample from New Jersey revealed the presence of tar spot. Tar spot is a foliar disease of corn that commonly occurs throughout Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The disease was identified in the United States for the first time in 2015 in northern Illinois and Indiana. Tar spot is caused by the fungus Phyllachora maydis and can cause severe yield loss on susceptible hybrids. In the Midwest severe tar spot outbreaks have been reported to reduce yield by more than 60 bushels per acre. It has also been observed that stalk rot and lodging are increased when tar spot severity is high. Corn at any developmental stage is susceptible to infection by the tar spot fungus when conditions are favorable. Tar spots appear as small, raised, black spots scattered across the upper and lower leaf surfaces. The pathogen that causes tar spot overwinters on infested corn residue on the soil surface, and it is thought that high relative humidity and prolonged leaf wetness favor disease development. You can diagnose corn tar spot in the field by examining corn leaves for the presence of black, tar-like spots. In the United States tar spot has been observed mostly during mid- to late grain fill (growth stages R3-R6) on leaves below or near the ear leaf.

Understanding and management of this disease in the United States is limited because of its very recent history.  Management practices that may help reduce tar spot development and severity include the following:

Residue Management – In order to reduce over wintering inoculum, tilling and burying residue is recommended to promote decomposition of crop residue.

Crop Rotation–   This helps reduce primary inoculum. We are still learning about the length of time to rotate out of corn.

Variety Selection – Avoid varieties that are or may be susceptible to tar spot.

Fungicides – The use of fungicides is still developing in the management of this disease.  Several fungicides have been identified with efficacy on tar spot. Some of these products have 2ee labels that are not applicable in all states. Data on timing of application, effectiveness and economic returns are still being developed.

Snyder Farm Twilight Tour & Meeting, Wed. August 23, 2023

collage of hemp, a drone and agrivoltaic installation at Rutgers Snyder Farm

Twilight Tour and Meeting*
Fiber Hemp Production
Drones in Agriculture
Agrivoltaics Research

Date/Time:
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
6:00 – 8:00 PM

Location:
Snyder Research and Extension Farm
140 Locust Grove Rd.
Pittstown, NJ 08867

This program is offered to assist producers, and anyone interested in learning more about Fiber Hemp Production and current Agrivoltaics research in NJ.

Topics Include:

  • Tour of Rutgers Fiber Hemp Plots
    See what the hemp is going on with production and management. Is hemp viable in NJ?
  • Drone sprayers and ground driven sprayers in agriculture
    Learn how drones can be used in agricultural production. Learn the requirements for applying pesticides using drones.
  • Tour of Rutgers Agrivoltaics Research Plot
    Learn about current and planned agrivoltaics research at Rutgers. Are agriculture and solar energy production compatible?

For more information contact:  RCE, Sussex County  973-948-3040

*Pesticide credits pending

SARE Partnership Grant Applications Announced

The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE) has released its 2022 call for Partnership Grant program proposals.
Applicants are invited to request up to $30,000 in funding to address a topic related to sustainable agriculture. Proposed projects should seek innovative solutions to challenges or explore new opportunities that affect agricultural production, marketing and/or household and community well-being in Northeast farming and food systems. They must be conducted in one of the New England states, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. or West Virginia and strengthen working partnerships with farmers to advance sustainable agriculture.
Proposals are due online by 5 p.m. ET on April 12
for more information, please visit