Labor
Project to optimize food plant worker safety, product supply
The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened the nation’s food supply, in part due to food industry workers falling ill, which reduces the workforce and can lead to temporary facility shut-downs. A Cornell-led project will use computer... more »
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown extends COVID-19 housing protections for ag workers
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Oct. 23 extended COVID-19 protections for agricultural workers in employer-provided housing through the off season. Executive Order 20-58 addresses requirements related to physical distancing, sanitation, and isolation in order to... more »
Florida ag department announces additional farmworker COVID-19 testing
Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) are announcing additional COVID-19 testing sites St. Lucie and Miami Dade County for farmworkers as the fall harvest season begins. The product of a partnership with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and... more »
Outbreak totals 59 among harvest workers in Oregon strawberry operation
Nearly 60 incoming seasonal contract strawberry harvest workers for Planasa Oregon Operations LLC on Short Road in Klamath Falls tested positive for COVID-19 before they started work about two weeks ago, according to company officials.... more »
EFI hires Karla Cook as certification manager
On its continued path of growth, Equitable Food Initiative, the workforce development and certification organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer advocacy groups, has hired Karla Cook as certification manager. Cook brings extensive... more »
USDA terminates agreement for Farm Labor Survey that determines H-2A wages
Agriculture farmworker advocacy group Farmworker Justice issued a press release protesting the Sept. 30 acton by President Donald Trump's administration canceling USDA's Farm Labor Survey of agricultural employers that is used by the Department of... more »
Housing for Harvest program expands to two more counties to help ag workers
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) announced Oct. 1 that the counties of Sacramento and San Luis Obispo are the latest to participate in Housing for the Harvest, a program announced by Gov.... more »
Ag groups call for more resources to protect employees, communities from COVID-19
Over 160 farm, food and agriculture organizations, all members of the Agriculture Workforce Coalition, on Sept. 24 sent a letter to the White House Coronavirus Task Force calling for the federal government to take additional... more »
Current Issue
On-farm AI: Water, farm, labor research guide decisions
Data collection tool expands farm management
Carmel Valley winegrapes: Parsonage Village Vineyard
IFTA Yakima Valley tour provides orchard insights
IFTA recognizes tree fruit honorees
Pennsylvania recognizes fruit industry professionals
Fresh Views 40 Under 40
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