Winter 1995 (v7n1)
Compiled by David Campbell, SAREP
California SAWG's First Statewide Meeting
Supported by funding from SAREP, the California Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SAWG) held its first statewide meeting on October 8-9 in Modesto. The meeting brought together 67 individuals representing a broad range of groups, including farmers, legislative and
agency staff, research and extension staff, non- profit representatives, and grassroots activists for anti-hunger and labor concerns. Plenary sessions addressed sustainable agriculture in the 21st cen- tury, the Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture and the 1995 Farm Bill, production and policy alternatives for reducing pesticide use, and the links between sustainable agriculture and com- munity food security. Alliances were formed among the diverse participants, and plans were made for SAWG activities. The California SWAG, one of five regional SAWGs around the nation, is designed as an institutional vehicle for advancing the common interests of the diverse constituencies involved in sustainable agriculture, For more information, contact Kai Siedenburg, SAWG Project Coordinator, P.O. Box 1599, Santa Cruz, CA 95061; (408) 458-5304.
Rise in Migrancy Among California Farmworkers
A recent Department of Labor report based on National Agricultural Workers Survey finds that almost half (47 percent) of all California agricultural workers migrate to find seasonal jobs. The finding is based on interviews completed between January 1989 and June 1991. That figure is up from the 39 percent migrancy rate found in a 1983 survey. The study found that most migrant workers travel from their hometowns to a particular work site, then return when the job is done. These "shuttle" migrants outnumber circular migrants-those who follow the crops from place to place on a seasonal route-by almost three to one. Four out of five shuttle migrants travel between a foreign country (mostly Mexico) and the United States. The study suggests that most migrants seek a lifestyle of stable long-term agricultural employment, but few find it due to the structure of farm labor demand which emphasizes temporary jobs, encourages subcontracting for labor management, and recruits workers in a manner that results in a chronic oversupply of labor. To obtain the report, Migrant Farmworkers: Pursuing Security in an Unstable Labor Market, contact Ruth Samardick, USDOL, Office of the Secretary for Policy, Room S-2015, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20010; (202) 219-6461. A related SAREP publication, How to Stabilize Your Farm Work Force (and Increase Profits, Productivity, and Personal Satisfaction) is now available (see P.10).
EPA, USDA Agree to Develop Pesticide Alternatives
On August 15 '1994, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture (USDA) announced an agreement to coordinate regulatory actions against high-risk pesticides with efforts to search for safer alternatives. According to the agreement, EPA and USDA will identify cases where producers will face a lack of pest management tools due to regulatory action. USDA would then work with both the agriculture and research communities to identify and develop alternative pest control methods. This will be done in part through a competitive grants program within a research and technology transfer program. To start the new process, EPA has recently listed 36 pesticides to be phased out under the terms of an out-of-court settlement of a lawsuit brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Among the pesticides and their uses are alachlor, used on soybeans and peanuts; benomyl, a fungicide used on apples, citrus, grapes, rice and tomatoes; captan, used on grapes, plums, and tomatoes; mancozeb, used on cereal grains and grapes; and dicofol, used on fruits and tomatoes. For more information, contact Al Heier, US-EPA, (202) 260-4374; Tom Amontree, USDA, (202) 720 4623; or Jennifer Curtis, NRDC, (415) 777-0220.
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