Current Projects

Feasibility Study for a Farmworker Vanpool in Napa County With funding from the Napa County Transportation & Planning Agency, CIRS is currently assessing the feasibility of a farmworker vanpool system. With funding from Caltrans and based on the successful model currently being implemented by the Agricultural Industries Transportation Services project, the vanpool system with provide farmworkers with safe and affordable transportation to and from the fields and wineries. The assessment, based on surveys and focus groups with farmworkers throughout Napa County, will gather data including levels of interest in this program, current transportation costs and origin-destination data.

Fair Food: Field to Table: A Multimedia Project Promoting Social Justice in our Food System
With funding from the Columbia Foundation and in collaboration with Rick Nahmias Photography, CIRS is creating a multimedia presentation promoting improved farm labor conditions in the US. Through the stories and voices of farmworkers, growers, “fair food” advocates and others, this project will educate viewers about the current harsh realities of farm labor conditions in the US and current efforts to promote improved conditions. This 10-12 minute multimedia reel, composed of still images, audio, music, graphics and text, will be disseminated to a wide range of audiences, including student groups seeking fair food on campuses to corporations seeking a more socially responsibility supply chain. Whereas most information about farmworker conditions focuses on the negative, this presentation will educate viewers about positive efforts to promote improved farmworker conditions and provide information about concrete actions they can take to support the growing movement for fair food.

Increasing Employee Satisfaction and Retention through Improved Compensation Structures
With funding from the Western Center for Risk Management Education, CIRS will conduct research and disseminate information promoting effective practices in incentive pay systems. Use of incentive pay systems, including profit-sharing and bonuses, are reported by nearly half of all agricultural employers in California. When implemented properly, these practices can help employers manage risk, incentivize desired behaviors, promote employee satisfaction and retention and increase farmworker incomes. When not implemented properly, however, these practices can backfire, resulting in reduced employee morale, satisfaction and retention. CIRS will identify effective practices in incentive pay systems through a review of the literature, interviews with experts in agriculture and other industries and in-depth case studies of five farms successfully implementing incentive pay systems. The information will be disseminated to growers through a series of workshops that will be conducted throughout California in 2008 and 2009.

 

Promoting Sustainable Water Conservation Practices in California Agriculture
Irrigated agriculture is by far the leading consumer of developed water in California, accounting for 80% of total use. Current trends are depleting our rivers and groundwater reserves. With funding from the Compton Foundation, CIRS is conducting case study research highlighting California farms implementing a range of water conservation practices. The case study findings will inform the development of a water conservation policy platform currently being developed by the Polaris Institute, with funding from the Columbia Foundation.

 

Organic Transitions

With funding from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP) and in collaboration with University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE), CIRS is currently conducting a survey of California growers that have discontinued registration with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Organic Program. The survey comes as a follow-up to previous research consisting of telephone interviews with conventional, mixed and deregistered growers. The purpose of this research is to identify the main reasons growers stop farming organically and to identify types of support to help organic growers continue farming organically. The results will be available in Summer 2007.

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Farmworker Food Security

In collaboration with University of California Cooperative Extension, Building Food Security Working Group and with funding from the California Nutrition Network, CIRS is currently engaged in Year 3 of a 4 year effort to improve diet and nutrition among farmworkers in California’s Central Valley. In conjunction with Fotonovelas del Valle, we are developing a 3-part “telenovela” style Spanish-language video promoting increased fruit and vegetable consumption, reduced fat intake and reduced consumption of non-diet sodas. The video will be disseminated during Year 4 and an impact evaluation will be conducted.

 

This project follows on an assessment of food security among farmworkers in Fresno County that CIRS carried out during Years 1 and 2. In collaboration with the University of California Cooperative Extension Building Food Security Work Group and Centro La Familia Advocacy Services, and with funding from the California Nutrition Network and the Community Food and Nutrition Program, CIRS conducted a survey with Fresno County farmworkers to assess hunger, diet and nutrition, access to food assistance programs, barriers to food security, and means of increasing 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 also included in the analysis. This Power Point presents preliminary findings from the surveys. The final report will be available in early 2008.

 

Click here to download a Power Point presentation on the assessment findings.

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Central Valley Air Quality Coalition (CVAQ)

With funding from The California Endowment, CIRS will be conducting a three-year evaluation of the Central Valley Air Quality (CVAQ) Coalition , a partnership of more than 70 community, medical, public health, environmental and environmental justice organizations dedicated to improving air quality in the San Joaquin Valley through policy advocacy, leadership development and public education about the health impacts of air pollution. The evaluation will identify programmatic outcomes as well as the impacts of a broad-based collaborative effort as a means of promoting environmental justice in the Central Valley.

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Promotores Communitarios de Salud Evaluation

In collaboration with Harder+Company Community Research, CIRS is conducting a 3-year evaluation of The California Endowment's Promotores Communitarios de Salud Strategy, a grassroots education and mobilization strategy for improving community health. The strategy, which is being implemented in eight agricultural communities throughout California, utilizes a popular education approach to help agricultural workers and other community residents understand and respond to physical and social environmental threats to their health. The evaluation will identify community level outcomes and provide on-going feedback to improve project design and implementation.

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