New publications from the California Institute for Rural Studies

[Guest guest]

The California Institute for Rural Studies is pleased to announce several

new publications - please see below for links and more information.

We are also pleased to announce our revised website. It includes numerous

publications not previously available in electronic format and survey

instruments that can be downloaded. (Special thanks to webmaster

Guerrero for help updating our website. can be reached at

clguerrero.designs@... - she does great work and her rates are very

reasonable.)

Please be sure to visit our current projects page to learn more about

what we're working on at CIRS these days

(

http://cirsinc.org/CurrentProjects.html).

Best regards,

Ron Strochlic

Farm Labor

Conditions on Organic Farms in California

by Ron Strochlic, Wirth, Ana Fernandez Besada and Christy Getz (39

pages)

With funding from the Columbia

Foundation, CIRS conducted a survey of farm labor conditions on

organic farms throughout California. The survey comes as a follow-up to

previous case study

research on 12 California farms with a reputation for positive

workplace conditions. The findings, based on in-depth interviews with 300

organic farms, provide a snapshot of farm labor conditions in

California’s organic sector. The findings provide detailed information

about wages and benefits on organic farms in California, how organic

farms compare to conventional farms with respect to labor conditions, how

wages and benefits vary based on farm characteristics such as size and

percentage of land in organic production and farm-level benefits of good

labor conditions. As efforts to improve farmworker conditions in organic

and sustainable agriculture move forward, the findings provide useful

baseline information with which to measure change.

Hunger In The

Fields: Food Insecurity Among Farmworkers In Fresno County

by Wirth, Ron Strochlic and Christy Getz (37 pages)

In collaboration with

University of California

ative Extension, Building Food Security Working Group and

Centro La Familia Advocacy

Services, and with funding from the

Network for a

Healthy California, and the

Community Food and Nutrition Program, CIRS conducted an assessment of

food security among agricultural workers in Fresno County, which assessed

issues including hunger, diet and nutrition, access to food assistance

programs and barriers to food security. Face-to-face interviews were

completed with 450 farmworkers during the winter and summer of 2005. A

sub-sample of 60 Mixteco farmworkers was included in the analysis as

well. The findings reveal high levels of food insecurity and poor diet

and nutrition among this population. The analysis identifies key factors

associated with food insecurity and poor diet, with policy

recommendations for addressing these issues.

Positive

Practices in Farm Labor Management: Keeping Your Employees Happy and Your

Production Profitable by CIRS and NCAT (16 pages)

With funding from the Columbia

Foundation, the Western Center for

Risk Management Education and Western

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education and in collaboration

with the National Center for Appropriate

Technology, CIRS developed a user-friendly manual providing growers

with information about how to implement a range of positive farm labor

practices. The manual is based on findings from earlier

case study

research on sustainable farms with positive farm labor conditions.

The information was disseminated to several hundred growers throughout

conferences and workshops.

Indigenous

Oaxacan Communities in California: An Overview

by Kresge (22 pages)

With funding from the Center for

Public Policy Research at UC , through a cooperative agreement

with the California Department of

Social Services, CIRS conducted exploratory research to identify

information about indigenous Oaxacans in California. Despite their status

as one of the fastest-growing immigrant populations in California, there

is little empirical data about this group. Based on a review of the

literature, secondary data, key informant interviews and focus groups,

this study provides estimates regarding the numbers of Oaxacans in

California, principal places of residence, languages spoken and principal

barriers to accessing social services.

Water

Stewardship: Ensuring a Secure Future for California Agriculture

(16 pages)

With funding from the Columbia

Foundation and in collaboration with the

Agriculture and Land-Based Training

Association, Community Alliance with

Family Farmers, Ecological Farming

Association, Polaris

Institute and WATER

Institute of the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, CIRS

participated in the development of a “Blue Paper” promoting improved

water stewardship in agriculture. The report calls for producers and

policy-makers to recognize the importance of agricultural water

stewardship as a key element of a strategy to better manage the state’s

dwindling water resources and reduce farmers’ reliance on insecure

inputs. It outlines the case for water stewardship and lays the

foundation for a water stewardship strategy.

Please visit

http://www.agwaterstewards.org/ for more information on this

initiative.

Ron Strochlic

Executive Director

California Institute for Rural Studies

221 G Street, Suite 204

, CA 95616

530-756-6555 x16

www.cirsinc.org