California’s San Joaquin Valley (SJV) offers a unique opportunity to study how exposure to particulate matter emissions from targeted agricultural practices and activities affect farmworker health.
The relationship between migrant health, economics, and labor issues was explored during the Migrant Labor and Global Health Conference held at UC Davis in March.
Dr. Marc Schenker, Director of the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (WCAHS), is retiring at the end of June.
Dr. Schenker founded the WCAHS, one of the original two National Institutes for Occupational Safety and Health Agricultural Centers. There are now 11 regional centers covering the United States. WCAHS’s region includes Arizona, California, Hawai’i, and Nevada. Dr. Schenker has directed WCAHS for over 25 years.
Dairy workers are especially at risk for injury (fatal and non-fatal) from accidents with animals and machinery. Download a free dairy safety training guide in English or Spanish.
Approximately half of California’s 650,000 farmworkers have no health care coverage. The other half receives seasonal coverage from their employer for a few months of the year and/or relies on Medi-Cal / Covered California eligibility.
Latino immigrant farmworkers experience high rates of both obesity and depressive symptoms; over 70% are overweight or obese, and 20% to 50% report symptoms that could indicate depression.
This past October, WCAHS participated in a community health fair held at the Knights Landing United Methodist church. Many different organizations, including WCAHS, set up tents and booths in the church courtyard to provide free health and safety information as well as basic health screenings.
Biosolarization simply means harvesting the power of biology (bio) plus the sun (sol) to kill pests. Add plastic and compost, and you are ready to roll.
University of California Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM) program. IPM provides scientifically based information on how to effectively deal with pests whether they are natural or exotic or in urban, agricultural, wildland or natural areas.