What is the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety Doing?

• FOCUSING ITS ATTENTION ON AGRICULTURAL HEALTH AND SAFETY. The UC Davis Center brings together multidisciplinary experts from the Schools of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, and Agriculture and Environmental Sciences to focus attention and research on the problems of health and safety in Western agriculture. These efforts help leverage increased resources and much-needed attention of state and national agencies to improve the health and safety of western farmers and farmworkers.
  
  
• DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE AND EFFECTIVE OUTREACH PROGRAMS. Innovative and effective outreach programs of the Center have been developed and implemented to improve health among pesticide applicators, farmers, children and other farm family members, and farm workers.
  
  
• DESIGNING SAFER EQUIPMENT AND WORK PRACTICES. Agricultural engineering programs supported by the Center are designing safer and more ergonomic farm equipment to reduce traumatic and cumulative trauma injuries.
  
  
• IDENTIFYING RISK FACTORS. Researchers in the School of Medicine are identifiying risk factors for acute and chronic illnesses due to toxic exposures so that effective prevention efforts can be targeted to those individuals at highest risk.
  
  
• CREATING BETTER COMMUNICATION. The UC Davis Center is a forum for agricultural health and safety communication. The Center continues to develop innovative and effective means of communication including electronic media, newsletters, conferences, focused talks and courses, as well as investigator meetings, advisory panels and interactions among the agricultural community. Please feel free to browse our home page for more information on the latest developments in agricultural health and safety.

THE WESTERN CENTER FOR AGRICULTURAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (WCAHS) at UC DAVIS has made strides in areas of research, prevention/intervention and education/outreach. It is uniquely situated to address and affect the health and safety of farmers, farm family members, hired farm workers and their families because of its co-location with the UC Davis Schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, its Colleges of Agriculture and Engineering, and the California’s Central Valley, one of Western agriculture’s most intensive and productive regions. WCAHS has taken a leadership role in addressing western agricultural health and safety issues, including health among migrant and seasonal (hired) farm workers, ergonomics of labor-intensive crop work, respiratory hazards in dry-climate farming, health of women and children in agriculture and pesticide safety. The public (general and agricultural) have been recipients of educational programs. WCAHS’ electronic communications (newsletter, list server) have expanded educational efforts of the center internationally.