- (Public Value) UCANR: Developing a qualified workforce for California
- Author: Ben Faber
Looking for two for Ditch Adventures
Project Description
Agricultural drainage ditches frequently maintain vegetation year-round that can provide resources and refuge to arthropods. This could help preserve diversity and abundance of beneficial species, as well as pests that use weedy plant species common in these areas. The role of ditch vegetation as refugia to arthropod pests, and their predators and parasitoids has never been studied in Ventura County. The research goals of this project are: 1) explore the relationship between ditch vegetation and the presence of three common insect pests, 2) assess the extent to which ditches serve as refugia for them and 3) their predator-parasitoid complex, and 4) determine if ditches can be a reservoir for Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV). This project is central to understanding how drainage ditch management practices in Ventura County might contribute to more sustainable control of troublesome pests, and help enhance the beneficial services of predators and parasitoids.
Learning Objectives and Tasks
- Obtain hands-on research experience in the field and the lab
- Participate in vegetation monitoring and plant identification
- Acquire skills in entomological research including sample collection, identification, and preservation
- Gain experience in arthropod taxonomy/ identification
- Advance your knowledge of agroecology, biocontrol, and ecosystem services to agriculture
- Learn to use field and lab test kits to detect plant diseases (INSV)
Expectations
- Able to commit at least 8 hours per week for a 5-month period
- Interest in agricultural sciences, entomology, or agroecology is desired as demonstrated by previous courses or volunteer work
- Ability and willingness to work both independently and in group settings
- Driver's license (preferred)
Compensation: Stipend of $2640 for the full internship period.
Number of Positions: 2
Start Date: August 15, 2023
End Date: December 15, 2023
May be renewed for another 5 months (January 15-June 15, 2024
To apply, please send a one-page CV and a brief statement of interest to
Maripaula Valdes-Berriz mvaldesberriz@ucanr.edu and Oleg Daugovish odaugovish@ucanr.edu.
Deadline to submit applications: July 10th, 2023
InternshipOnePager DitchProj Final
- Author: Ben Faber
- Author: Ben Faber
Larry Schwankl was born July 11, 1953, to Margaret and Orville Schwankl in Mankato, MN, and died May 2, 2022, Visalia, CA, from complications due to cancer. He graduated from Mankato High School and attended Mankato State for two years before transferring to Iowa State University for a degree in civil engineering. After earning his Masters from the University of California-Davis he worked for FEMA in Philadelphia on flood control issues. He returned to UC Davis and obtained his Ph.D. after which he was hired as a University of California Cooperative Specialist affiliated with the UC Davis Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources Department. During his career he worked with growers and industry on sprinkler, drip, and flood irrigation management. In 2004 he married Carol Frate of Visalia, CA, and transferred to the University's Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center near Parlier, CA. He remained with UC Cooperative Extension until he retired in 2014.
Larry was a thoughtful, kind, and generous man who enjoyed fishing (particularly for walleye in Minnesota lakes), hiking, birding, gardening, and turning wooden bowls. He loved animals, especially his cats. He attended St. Mary's Catholic Church.
Larry's parents preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife Carol Frate of Visalia, CA; sister Gail (Dale) Erickson of Mankato, MN, sister-in-law Vicki Salzberg, nieces Sarah (Chris) Tracy and Emily Salzberg, grandnieces Anna and Simone, and grandnephews Owen and River of Olympia, WA.
A rosary followed by a Mass of Christian Burial will be at 1:30 pm on July 18, 2022, at Holy Family Catholic Church, 1908 N. Court St, Visalia, CA. Interment will be at a later date in Olympia, WA. Donations may be made to Pacific Wildlife Care, 1387 Main St., Morro Bay, CA 93442 or to a charity of choice.
From Ben: He taught me that you can not irrigate knowledgeably without a flow meter, and you might as well just gamble away your orchard unless you do a distribution uniformity test on the irrigation system. These are critical tools, creating good water management and healthy orchards.
- Author: Ben Faber
Vístase Bien Para El Trabajo: Consulte El Nuevo Curso
En Línea De UC IPM Sobre Equipo De Protección Personal
Autors: Cheryl Reynolds y Petr Kosina
Si manipulas pesticidas como parte de tu trabajo, lo más probable es que usas algún tipo de equipo de protección personal (PPE). Sin embargo, ¿sabes si estás usando el tipo adecuado para el trabajo que haces? Usar el PPE apropiado, quitárselo de la manera correcta y limpiarlo correctamente evita la exposición innecesaria a pesticidas para ti y los demás. Conoce los pasos para no exponer a los miembros de tu familia o a quienes te rodean a residuos de pesticidas en la nueva versión del curso en línea sobre la Selección, Uso y Retiro Adecuados de Equipo de Protección Personal del Programa estatal de IPM de la Universidad de California (UC IPM).
El curso tiene una duración de 1.5 horas y ha sido aprobado por el Departamento de Reglamentación de Pesticidas de California en la categoría de Leyes y Reglamentaciones (1.5 CEU). Este curso está diseñado para todos los manipuladores de pesticidas con el objetivo de proporcionarles información sobre las etiquetas de los pesticidas y el Código de Reglamentaciones de California (CCR) para ayudarlos a seleccionar, usar, quitar y almacenar o retirar el PPE. El curso está disponible de forma gratuita, pero aquellos que necesiten un certificado de CEU deberán pagar 60 dólares.
En California, todos los manipuladores de pesticidas (aplicadores, mezcladores, cargadores, los quienes transportan pesticidas o los quienes reparan el equipo de aplicación) tienen la obligación legal de usar PPE. Sin embargo, para obtener la mayor protección, el PPE debe usarse correctamente. Las violaciones que involucran el uso incorrecto de PPE fueron el segundo tipo de violación en el área agrícola más reportado en 2020 según lo informado por el DPR (https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/license/pdf/pesticide_use_violation_2020.pdf).
El curso de PPE comienza con un escenario que describe un ejemplo real de un accidente reportado al DPR que condujo a un incidente de exposición a pesticidas porque no se usó la protección correcta para los ojos. El contenido que sigue está dividido en seis módulos, destacando los tipos de PPE, cómo seleccionarlos y cuándo deben usarse ciertos artículos. Vas a trabajar con las etiquetas de los pesticidas para aprender a seleccionar el PPE correcto y entender cuándo deben usarse ciertos artículos y responder preguntas breves sobre los diferentes tipos de EPP. Los videos instruccionales breves y las caricaturas animadas demuestran la manera correcta de ponerse o quitarse elementos como guantes, overoles, respiradores y anteojos. Para recibir su certificado de finalización y horas de educación continua deberás aprobar la prueba final con un 70% o más.
Si eres titular de una licencia o certificado del DPR y tu apellido comienza con las letras de la M a la Z, este es el año para renovar tu licencia. Ahora es un buen momento para tomar los cursos de capacitación en línea ofrecidos por UC IPM. Para obtener más información sobre la renovación de la licencia, visite la página web de DPR.
Algunas capturas de pantalla de este curso se muestran a continuación.
Caption: Como lo demuestra el marcador fluorescente visto bajo una luz negra, los residuos de pesticidas pueden transferirse a la cara cuando se quitan las gafas sin lavar primero los guantes.
Alt text: Imagen dividida. A la izquierda, una persona de pie en el estudio se quita el overol de trabajo con los guantes de caucho todavía puestos. La imagen de la derecha hecha bajo luz negra muestra la persona en una posición similar con guantes brillando y marcas blanquecinas en la cara de la persona.
Caption: Los manipuladores de pesticidas deben limpiar su ropa de trabajo por separado de la ropa de la familia para evitar la contaminación por pesticidas.
Alt text: Imagen de dibujos animados: en el lavadero, el hombre cuelga su overol azul de trabajo para secarlo mientras una mujer se para cerca con un pulgar hacia arriba.
Caption: Use mangas de overol fuera de los guantes cuando aplique pesticidas debajo del hombro para que los pesticidas no entren en los guantes.Alt text: Una mano en guante verde con manga de overol blanco puesto sobre el guante. Líquido púrpura corre desde la manga blanca hasta el guante.
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- Author: Ben Faber
Pruning trees is dangerous. You think you know which way that branch is going to drop, and instead it falls right on your head. Good thing you are wearing a helmet, but a big limb is not going to be stopped by a helmet. A recent report out of Penn State developed some statistics on tree “felling' – pruning – which should be noted by anyone cutting trees. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajim.23286 . Where it reads “logging and landscaping”, read avocado pruning. These statistics are just for deaths from trees, not injuries. I couldn't find on-farm statistics of pruning injuries, but, know that farming is one of those high risk activities like other tree-related interactions.
Tree felling — whether by professional loggers in a forest setting or by landscapers in urban and rural landscapes — is the most dangerous job in what are two of the most dangerous industries, according to Penn State researchers who conducted a new study of associated deaths.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration calls logging “the most dangerous occupation in the United States.” The fatal injury rate for loggers is more than 30 times the rate for all U.S. workers. Tree-care workers also encounter hazards at rates much higher than the average employee.
“This was the first research to look at commercial logging and landscaping services together,” said Judd Michael, Nationwide Insurance Professor of Agricultural Safety and Health and professor of agricultural and biological engineering, College of Agricultural Sciences. “It was a unique and more accurate way to assess fatalities. The commonality, of course, is that workers in both fields fell trees. They do it using very different methods, but either way, it is extremely hazardous work.”
Logging in Appalachia and other regions with forests growing on rough, mountainous terrain continues largely unmechanized, with workers felling trees with chainsaws, standing at their bases; landscapers, on the other hand — because they must control the fall of limbs and trunks — must climb trees with chainsaws and cut sections down.
To reach their conclusions, the researchers analyzed an Occupational Safety and Health Administration database to identify occupational tree-felling fatalities in the United States during a 10-year period — from 2010 through the first half of 2020. They compared data for the two industry segments of logging and landscaping services.
In findings recently published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, the researchers reported that there were 314 fatalities over the period. The victims were overwhelmingly male, with the median age being 43. “Struck-by” was the No. 1 event type causing fatalities, with the head being the most frequent body part involved in fatalities.
Falls from elevation was the only event type significantly different between the logging and landscaping industries, Michael noted, adding “but you would expect that, given the nature of the work.” Poor decision-making was listed as a key component of fatal incidents, and in some cases bystanders were fatally injured due to the actions of others.
The number of tree-felling fatalities varied greatly from year to year during the study, and there were no clear trends in fatality rates, Michael pointed out. The reasons for the cyclical rise and fall of tree-felling fatalities are unknown but he suspects they may be driven by weather events. One possible causal factor was whether hurricanes made landfall in the coastal states.
Storm damage may lead to increased fatalities, he explained. Years such as 2012, 2017 and 2018 with abnormally high damage costs from Atlantic storms also saw relatively high numbers of landscaping fatalities that could be associated with storm‐damaged urban trees, while 2014 and 2015 had very quiet hurricane seasons and relatively few fatalities.
“Look at what happened with Hurricane Ida recently, with all the power lines that were down because of downed trees in Louisiana,” he said. “We don't know yet if that will lead to landscape tree-feller deaths, but we suspect large storms lead to more fatalities. Utilities can't restore power without clearing downed trees, so the importance of keeping tree operations safe can't be overstated.”
Getting a better handle on fatality numbers is just an early step in trying to make the job of tree fellers safer, Michael explained. And it is not as simple as just advising that protective equipment should be worn.
“Personal protective equipment is mandated, but that means a hard hat or some chaps on a worker's legs to stop a saw from cutting through,” he said. “But if you have a 1,000-pound limb falling from 10 feet or 50 feet, no equipment is going to protect them. And that's one of our key takeaways — you can have all the protection you want, but it won't help you if you get hit by a tree trunk or large limb. That's why we need to have better decision-making to keep people out of danger.”
There is a need to focus on hazards associated with tree-felling activities so that proactive prevention strategies can be developed, Michael suggested.
“Employers in the landscaping industry should put extra emphasis on fall protection and prevention for those working in elevated positions,” he said. “Greater attention to falling object avoidance for persons working around a tree being felled could also prevent fatalities. Logging companies should strive to adopt mechanized methods for tree felling.”
But fatalities from tree felling are just a fraction of the number of severe injuries incurred while working around trees, Michael added. By focusing on the cause of fatalities, Penn State researchers hope that strategies can be developed to also reduce the number of injuries in these important industries.
More Information on safely working trees:
https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/dosh_publications/Ag-Field-Operations.pdf
https://www.safeatworkca.com/safety-articles/tree-trimming/
https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/tree-work-safety.html
https://www.safeatworkca.com/safety-articles/cutting-down-trees/
And KEEP those TOOLS SHARP: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=28916
This map shows the locations of tree-felling fatalities, 2010–2020.