County Corner
Farmworker vaccination effort overcame hesitancy Highlighting county Farm Bureaus working on behalf of California’s agricultural communities
California ag ocials will begin assessing civil penalties this year for violations of laws in e ect since 2019 to protect bees. Under the law, beekeepers must: We are now two years into this pandemic. Who could’ve ever predicted that we would have a higher infection rate now thanwe did at any time in the past two years? The Santa CruzCountyFarmBureauCOVID-19TaskForcehascontinuedtoworkwithcountyhealth officials toprovide farmworkers booster-shot opportunities and rapid-testing kits, which are in short supply on a national level. It’shard to tell if orwhen thispandemic is coming toanend. But throughout thishistoric challenge, the agricultural community in Santa Cruz County has sought to protect its workers—and it has showed its resiliencebycontinuing toprovide food locally, nationally andworldwide. Our task force realizedthat thisendeavorhadtobemanagedwell so thatwecouldcreate ambassadors within the farmworker community to speak positively about the vaccines. We also realized that we needed to distribute the vaccines in a fairmanner. Our task force developed an equitable formula that ensured that farms of all size and type would be included in this first effort. In less than one week, we set up a clinic that vaccinated 1,300 farmworkers. WhiletheSCCFBwasabletoprotect thefarmworkercommunity, thebenefitsofwhatwas donebyour industry throughout theCOVIDexperienceextendedtothewholecommunity. The shelter-in-place orders, closure of parks and open spaces, unemployment due to the closureof nonessential industries—forcingpeople to stayhome—combinedwithour high-density housing, created an ideal environment for the spread of COVID. Our farmworkers, however,wereable toworkeveryday, usuallyoutdoors,while receiv- ingmultiple health checks. If symptoms appeared, isolation could be quickly arranged. The rate of infection acquired on farms was almost nil. Andwhen our earlymass vaccine programstarted,manyof thosepeoplevaccinatedresided inthesehighCOVID-riskareas. Our earlyvaccinationof farmworkers,manyofwhomwerea littleolder thantheaverage age farmworker, didhelp tocreateagroupof “vaccineambassadors”whohelpedgive the greater community and incoming younger workers trust in the vaccine process.
Jess Brown Executive Director
Twoyearsago,wewere justhearingabout avirusoriginating inChina thatwas spreading across the world. There was much uncertainty as to how this would impact our lives in California. Each daywas a different story, withmore concern building. Inamatterof 45days,wewereexperiencingashelter-in-placeorder.Thiswas something no one had ever experienced, and its impact on agriculturewas uncertain. Fortunately, those in charge realized that not all industries could shelter in place and work fromhome. We needed our food supply to continue. Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau became a source of information to our members. Fortunately, Santa Cruz County FarmBureau has incredible leaders, so a COVID-19 task forcewas put together. It led toweeklymeetingswithcountyhealthofficials tohelpcreate health safety guidelines for agriculture. The task force worked to bridge gaps in terms of resources, such as isolation housing for infected employees, and worked to harmonize directives with adjacent counties. It connected with other organizations, such as the California Strawberry Commission, to get help in providing translation services and document review, and brought needed “boots on the ground” to report what was really going on in the farmworker community to the county health department. This relationship proved valuable to both agriculture and county officials. One year ago, the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau was given the responsibility of being the first in the nation to do a mass vaccination of farmworkers. This was a great opportunity, but we also realized that there was a hesitancy among farmworkers about the vaccinations. Bill introduced to control wild pigs harmful to farms
Astate lawmakerhas introduced legisla- tionaimedat controllingCalifornia’sgrow- ingwildpigpopulationinhopesof curbing damage caused by the invasive species to agriculture and the environment. Senate Bill 856, by state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, would reduce hunting restric- tions inorder tohelpmanagewildpig lev- els and protect habitat. “Unfortunately, swellingnumbersofwild pigs have become a scourge on California wildlands, endangering sensitive habitats, farms and other animals,” Dodd said in a statement. “They also present a major public health risk and have been linked to outbreaksof food-borne illness.Mybillwill increaseopportunities tohunt themanddo somoreeconomicallysothatwemaybring our pigpopulationunder control.” The California Department of Fish and Wildlife already allows year-round pig hunting for people with valid hunting li- censes or depredation permits. The new law would expand the definition of wild pigs tocover Europeanwildboars or other free-roaming or feral pigs that don’t have visible tagsormarkings indicating theyare
part of a domestic herd. Thebillwouldalsogivepropertyowners, employeesandtenants increasedauthority to eliminate wild pigs bothering or killing livestock or damaging property. However, the bill wouldprohibit the use of poison. Dodd’s office reported that California’s wild pig population has soared since var- ious non-native boar and pig breeds were introducedcenturiesago.Thepigsarenow found in 56 of 58 California counties. Jennifer Beretta, president of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, said the feral pig population in the county has reached “an alarming number.” In a statement supporting the bill, she said, “These unmanageable herds are tearing up working lands, competing with less aggressive wildlife for food and rutting the landscape to the point of de- graded water quality. “Wewouldneveradvocateforeradicating ananimalpopulation,”Berettasaid.“Butthe ability tomanage the population through science-based management practices is advantageous for farmingandopenspace.”
Register annually with the county Ag Commissioner.
Cleary mark hives with name, address and phone number. Notify county within 72 of hive relocation.
Watch a video tutorial on using BeeWhere to comply with California laws: californiastatebeekeepers.com/beewhere/
Fol l ow @BeeWhereCA on Facebook F O R M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N Vi s i t beewhereca l i forni a . com or beecheck .org
January 26, 2022 Ag Alert 49
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