UC Blog
Farmers should watch out for the 'heat'
No matter how small the farm, the operator must have a workers' compensation policy and comply with other regulations - even if they are getting on-farm assistance only from family, said UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Richard Molinar in a press release picked up by GrowingProduce.com.
If farms are found to be out of compliance, they could be hit with substantial fines. Molinar provided the following example:
A refugee strawberry farmer who speaks very little English was fined $2,000 by Labor Standards Enforcement for not having workers’ compensation insurance for his wife and uncle who work on their half-acre strawberry patch next to their home in Visalia. They sell the berries only from their roadside stand. He was also fined $195 for not having a documented Illness Prevention Program and $260 for no documented heat illness prevention program for his wife and uncle.
The release said growers can find out more about farming regulations by contacting Molinar or his assistant, Michael Yang, in the Fresno County UC Cooperative Extension Office.
Michael Yang, left, and Richard Molinar advise a small-scale farmer.
Egg recall collides with California's Prop 2
As producers and government agencies continue to investigate last month's enormous recall of Iowa-produced eggs, California egg farmers are pondering whether new rules that will govern the state's hen houses will play a role in preventing or exacerbating egg-borne illness, said an article in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Proposition 2, enacted by a wide margin of California voters in 2008, will require egg producers to provide adequate room for their hens to turn around freely, lie down, stand up and fully extend their limbs.
A Humane Society of the United States spokesperson told Chron reporter Carolyn Lockhead that the evidence is "very clear" that caging laying hens increases the risk of salmonella. However, Ralph Ernst, extension poultry specialist emeritus at UC Davis, who helped write California's voluntary egg production rules, told her that cages "are more sanitary than any other housing system, period."
A farmer quoted in the story said the caged environment separates the birds from their feces.
"In a cage-free environment you do not do that," Petaluma farmer Arnie Riebli said. "You allow the birds to walk in it and you allow the birds to eat it. Believe me, all you're doing is feeding them bacteria. Would you allow a small child to play in his excrement or eat his excrement?"
How regulators will interpret and enforce Prop 2's requirements are still unclear. Some farmers believe larger, "furnished" cages will be allowed.
Dan Sumner, director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center, said there is no reason to think that cages have any specific effect on the food safety aspect of the eggs.
"Cage-free is probably more dangerous when it comes to salmonella," Sumner was quoted.
Passwords must be upgraded to passphrases
As part of the ongoing effort to improve privacy and computer security, UCD is requiring all UC Davis computing accounts to be updated with a new Kerberos passphrase, which has different requirements from the old Kerberos password. New federal minimum passphrase strength requirements are the impetus for this change. Previous campus password standards, implemented more than 20 years ago, fail to meet these federal requirements. The recently updated UC Davis Security Standards can be reviewed at this link http://manuals.ucdavis.edu/PPM/310/310-22a.pdf.
To meet the federal passphrase strength requirement, campus Kerberos passphrases must be at least 12 characters long. The actual number of characters required to meet the standard will depend upon the characters used, but samples of passphrases that meet the requirement are:
Healthy Cal!
4-H kids thrive
Easy as pie.
Everyone must upgrade to a passphrase by December 2010. Damon DiPietro of CSIT will be in contact with each office to try to move this along smoothly. Waiting until passwords expire could result in a temporary loss of e-mail access and access to UCD systems such as MyTravel.
You will need to know your loginID and current Kerberos password or your password challenge questions. If you don't know your Kerberos password and haven't set up the password challenge questions, you will need to talk to an IET account proxy (Damon DiPietro or Blaine Sullivan).
When it asks for your employee ID number, if you are not a UC Davis employee you can use your ANR ID from the ANR Portal (http://ucanr.org/portal). It is at the bottom of your Directory Info – in the upper left corner of the page. It should look like this – ANR000000. You can also use your social security number.
When you upgrade to a passphrase, you will also need to set the security questions/responses needed to reset an online passphrase if you have not done so previously. The online passphrase reset enables you to set a new passphrase 24/7 even if you've forgotten your old one.
To upgrade, please follow the instructions here:
http://ucanr.org/sites/anrstaff/Communications/Passphrase_Upgrade/
If you have questions or need assistance with this change, please contact Damon DiPietro (dadipietro@ucdavis.edu) or the UCD IT Express Computing Services Help Desk at 530-754-HELP (4357).
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
What communication tools are available and how do I use them?
At last week's Healthy Families and Communities conference in Davis, participants brainstormed on communications and outreach methods. During that session, Communication Services staff noticed that participants were unfamiliar with many of the tools already at their disposal.
Here are some questions and answers about communication tools available right now to everyone in the Division.
What is Collaborative Tools (CT) and how can I use it?
CT is available on your ANR Portal. It is a discussion tool used primarily for internal projects and collaborative efforts with non-ANR users. It features discussion management tools, email alerts and roster list creation tools. Collaborative Tools is private, restricted to members only. It can be used to store notes, documents and other reference material for short or long-term projects and committees. Contact: Dave Krause (530) 754-3935, djkrause@ucdavis.edu
Where can I store images, documents or videos that my colleagues can use?
The ANR Repository, also on your ANR Portal, is a statewide document storage system designed to collect and store documents that you want to share with others in the Division. Photographs, articles, videos and other documents can all be stored in the repository, tagged for easy searching and made accessible either only to ANR staff or to any Internet user. By using the collection feature you can share materials specifically with colleagues or have those materials feed your Site Builder website. The Repository is designed as a long-term, searchable file storage system. Contact: Karl Krist, (530) 754-3939, kakrist@ucdavis.edu
What is Adobe Connect and how can it be used?
Adobe Connect Pro is a desktop videoconferencing solution. Anyone with a computer, browser and Internet connection can participate. One blanket fee has been paid by the Division for you to use Connect. It is accessed through your ANR Portal. As a host, you can create online meeting rooms and display any application or browser window, or specific files including PPT, PDF, JPEGs, Audio or Flash video. Contact: Mike Poe, 530-754-3905, mlpoe@ucdavis.edu
How can I get training on software?
If CSIT created the software, such as tools in your portal, you can always contact CSIT for training opportunities and resources. If you are interested in how to better use commercial software like Word, Excel and many others, you have access through your ANR Portal to Lynda.com. The Division has paid the fee for the entire Division to use Lynda.com for online tutorials in software from Microsoft, Adobe, and many other brands. Contact: Mike Poe, (530) 754-3905, mlpoe@ucdavis.edu
Feel free to contact the CSIT staff for additional assistance.
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
Scientists to minimize impact of High Sierra grazing
University of California, U.S. Forest Service and other agencies will work together to understand the impact of cattle grazing in the High Sierra and look for solutions to water quality problems, according to an article in the Sonora Union Democrat.UC Davis Cooperative Extension watershed specialist Ken Tate and interim director of the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security at UC Davis Rob Atwill will design and conduct the study. The first samples have already been collected.
In the story, writer Ashley Archibald reported that the scientists are seeking to fix problems, not just document them.
“It’s good to focus on what are the practices that can move us forward so everyone can enjoy the national forest since it has a multiple use mandate and is a resource for the public, and the public is pretty diverse," Atwill was quoted.
Scott Oneto, the director and farm advisor for the UC Cooperative Extension in Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, said the scientists are still looking for input on how to build a comprehensive study.
The California Farm Bureau Federation's weekly publication AgAlert
also weighed in on the new study. The paper said the scientists held a briefing for ranchers in Sonora where they explained their desire to acquire data to demonstrate the relationship between grazing on public lands and water quality requirements.
The article - written by AgAlert editor Kate Campbell - noted that the scientists will take multiple water samples from 48 different sites in the High Sierra over the next several months, with preliminary results available by the end of this year. Sites will include areas used for grazing and recreation.