Rutgers Cooperative Extension
Farm managers may be interested in an upcoming webinar to be offered by AgrAbility: “Convivencia y conversación: Tools for reducing stress and fostering emotional well-being among Latino farmworkers”. The webinar will be held on Monday, August 29, 2022 from 3:00-4:00 p.m. EST. For more details and registration information, visit the AgrAbility website.
Note that participants must register by Thursday, August 25.
On these hot and dry days we are reminded that farmers, farm workers, landscapers, and gardeners are at a high risk for UV exposure and skin cancer. Effective sunscreen and ultraviolet protective clothing are important tools to help you stay safe while working outdoors, as we shared in a recent Plant & Pest Advisory article.
To learn more about sun protection products and The Skin Cancer Foundation (SCF) Seal of Recommendation, check out the upcoming educational webinar series to be hosted by SCF. Details and registration information for these 30-minute, once monthly webinars can be found at https://webinar.skincancer.org/.
Daily high temperatures over the next 10 days will soar above 90 degrees each day, with the real feel exceeding 100 degrees at times. It’s important to take precautions to keep you and your workers safe from heat stress and other heat-related illnesses. Check out these 5 quick tips you can implement today to safeguard everyone on your farm during this extreme heat.
USDA photo by Lance Cheung.
From MorningAgClips.com posting (4/7/22) <https://www.morningagclips.com/free-training-tools-available-to-address-sexual-harassment-of-farmworkers/> from 4/5/22 press release from Equitable Food Initiative <https://equitablefood.org/latest-news/free-training-tools-available-to-address-sexual-harassment-of-farmworkers/>
WASHINGTON — Equitable Food Initiative, the workforce development and certification organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer advocacy groups, has collaborated with Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (PNASH), a part of the University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, to support the development of a worksite training and toolkit, ¡Basta! Preventing Sexual Harassment in Agriculture.
April is National Sexual Harassment Awareness and Prevention Month, and EFI is using the time to shine a light on this important topic. Several studies have found that 75%-80% of female farmworkers have experienced sexual harassment at work, compared to 50% in non-agricultural office settings as reported by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The EFI website offers statistics, facts and study citations on harassment at work, links to access the ¡Basta! Preventing Sexual Harassment toolkit, which features videos in both English and Spanish, and educational materials that can be used in workplaces (posters, shareable graphics and a detailed fact sheet). The information and resources can be found at equitablefood.org/harassment, and all are provided free of charge.
“Development of the ¡Basta! toolkit was catalyzed by female farmworkers in Eastern Washington who brought the issue of sexual harassment to PNASH,” explained Dr. Jody Early, a professor at University of Washington who worked on the project. “This is the first program created by and for agricultural stakeholders to address the prevention of sexual harassment, and we tailored it to the needs of Latino/a/x farmworkers, growers and supervisors.”
The PNASH team worked for six years and engaged more than 48 different stakeholders in the development – including farmworkers, grower associations, health care advocates, human rights organizations, state and federal agencies, farmworker rights groups, private businesses and nonprofits like Equitable Food Initiative.
“This can be a difficult topic, but it’s essential that we address it industrywide,” said LeAnne Ruzzamenti, director of marketing communications for EFI. “We know that harassment happens more frequently among farmworkers, we know that it goes unreported, and we know that agriculture workplaces include characteristics that make women more vulnerable to it.”
EFI’s certification program goes beyond a simple audit and introduces workforce development solutions along with training in communication, conflict resolution, problem-solving and collaboration. Third-party evaluation studies have found that the program fosters culture shifts on farms that result in respectful and trusting workplaces where women and indigenous workers report reduced harassment and discrimination.
“EFI’s mission is to improve the lives of farmworkers by bringing everyone in the system together to address the fresh produce industry’s most pressing problems,” Ruzzamenti continued. “I can’t think of a more important goal than creating safer and healthier workplaces through a zero-tolerance approach to harassment.”
About EFI
Equitable Food Initiative is a nonprofit certification and skill-building organization that seeks to increase transparency in the food supply chain and improve the lives of farmworkers through a team-based approach to training and continuous improvement practices. EFI brings together growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumers to solve the most pressing issues facing the fresh produce industry. Its unparalleled approach sets standards for labor practices, food safety and pest management while engaging workers at all levels on the farm to produce Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured® fruits and vegetables. For more information about Equitable Food Initiative, visit equitablefood.org.
View a list of EFI-certified farms at equitablefood.org/farms.
–Equitable Food Initiative
Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s EXCITE team is requesting NJ farmers input via a short five-minute survey about COVID-19-related resources for the upcoming growing season.
Please click here to go to the survey: https:/go.rutgers.edu/mcgr9pzt
This survey is totally anonymous, you do not have to answer any questions you do not want to, and you can stop at any time.
After taking the survey, please take a minute to forward this post to other NJ farmers who may not see this message. You can copy the link or just forward this message.
Thank you.
Through our collaboration in the Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching & Engagement (EXCITE) we’d like to share the following timely updates on the on-going pandemic and efforts to encourage everyone eligible to get vaccinated and/or boosted now!
From today’s EXCITE newsletter, the CDC urges Get a Boost for the Holidays!
“We want to see you in the New Year… please remember to get your COVID booster shot, available for all persons 16 and up. As the omicron COVID-19 virus variant emerges and may impact holiday plans, the most up-to-date guidance will be on the CDC website. A new page on the omicron variant has been updated as of Dec. 14, 2021. The CDC page on travel and COVID-19 was updated Dec. 10. For guidance on flu, the CDC has a dedicated set of pages that will be updated throughout the holidays as new information becomes available.
From the CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccines for Children website:
CDC recommends everyone ages 5 years and older get a COVID-19 vaccine to help protect against COVID-19.
At this time, the Pfizer-BioNTech is approved for everyone from ages 5 and older. The Moderna and J&J/Janssen vaccines are only approved for individuals 18 years old and older.
