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 Cindy Guerrero for help updating our website. Cindy 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, Cathy 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 Cathy Wirth, Ron Strochlic and Christy Getz (37 pages)
In collaboration with University of California Cooperative 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 Lisa Kresge (22 pages)
With funding from the Center for Public Policy Research at UC Davis, 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
Davis, CA 95616
530-756-6555 x16
www.cirsinc.org