AGRICULTURE. The official publication of Riverside County Farm Bureau, Inc.

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1 Riverside County AGRICULTURE The official publication of Riverside County Farm Bureau, Inc. A private, nonprofit organization serving farmers throughout Riverside County since State Budget: Ag Incentive Grant Funding By California Farm Bureau Federation Governor Brown s proposed State Budget for the fiscal year will shift $4.1 million of Proposition 98 General Fund money from the Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive Grant (AC- TEIG) program to the Local Control Program. Without the ACTEIG funding, schools would no longer have the incentive to offer agricultural courses as they are not part of state-mandated graduation coursework, and are not a part of the school accountability measures. Without this funding, these courses and programs will likely disappear from class offerings in most schools. California should make Career Technical Agricultural Education (CTE) a priority so students are prepared for entering the workforce. Providing greater access to CTE for students with courses in agricultural sciences, business and computers, allows students to take the knowledge that they have learned in the classroom and apply it to real-life hands-on experiences that gives students a head start on long-term careers. Career Technical Agricultural Education is an important educational element to California s students, having over 1,285 courses that are UC/CSU approved for admission to California s university system. Enrollment in these programs has increased from 21,000 students in the mid-1980 s to over 74,000 students today. This educational model combines rigorous academic instruction, incredible leadership and personal development activities providing real-life employability skills in a way that is truly remarkable in education today. These young people, many from non-agricultural backgrounds, graduate with the knowledge and personal skills they need to succeed in life; whether headed to postsecondary education or the workforce. Several studies have demonstrated that students who complete a series of at least three CTE courses graduate from high school in higher numbers, go on to postsecondary education in higher numbers, graduate from college and receive their degrees in less time than their peers who do not take CTE coursework. The Farm Bureau urges you to contact your elected officials and ask them to support career technical education by funding the Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive Grant in the budget. Please do it today. Inside this Issue... PTO Safety... 2 MSPA FLC/FLCE Training Annual Dinner Sponsors... 4 Farm Machinery on Roadways... 5 PTO Safety continued... 6 Calendar of Events March 2014 Riverside County Agriculture - 1

2 Board of Directors President Richard A. Schmid, Jr. Vice Presidents Ellen Lloyd Trover Adrian Zendejas Marlene Salazar-Pongs 2012 Past President Grant Chaffin Directors Lee Anderson, Jr. Linden Anderson George Cordero Stephen J. Corona Andy Domenigoni Cindy Domenigoni Ben Drake Jeff Elrod John C. Gless Anthony Griffin Dan Hollingsworth Alex Sanchez Anton Schmidt Andy Wilson Greg Young Treasurer Anton Schmidt Executive Director Corporate Secretary Steven A. Pastor Office Manager Stephanie Bell For advertising information, Telephone 951/ Toll-free 888/ or Fax 951/ Visit Riverside County Farm Bureau assumes no responsibility for statements by advertisers or for products advertised in Riverside County Agriculture, nor for statements or expressions of opinion other than in editorials or articles showing authorship by an officer, director or employee of Riverside County Farm Bureau. Printed by Layton Printing, La Verne, California. Welcome New Members We would like to "Thank You" for becoming part of the Farm Bureau Family. Use extra care when working near a PTO By Mike Klimenko, Farm Bureau Group Manager Next to the tractor itself, one of the most important tools available to the modern farmer is the power take-off unit, more commonly referred to as the PTO. With this piece of equipment, farmers and their employees have the versatility of being able to run irrigation pumps and other agricultural implements virtually anywhere on their property. While the PTO provides great benefits on the farm or ranch, it comes with some inherent risks for anyone working with it or in its vicinity. When a PTO is in operation, it utilizes a shaft (or more than one) that is rotating at an extremely high speed. People can be injured or killed if their hair, clothing, arms or legs become entangled in the rotating shaft. That s why it is so important to take precautions and not allow anyone who hasn t been schooled in the operation of a PTO to be in its vicinity. Here are some safety recommendations relating to PTOs. Please study these and share them with others. Always disengage the PTO and turn off the equipment before leaving the operator s seat or approaching a drive line. Instruct all workers and visitors who might come near an operating PTO unit about the entanglement hazard. Instruct all children and untrained adolescents never to ap proach, operate or perform maintenance on PTO-driven machinery. Loose-fitting clothing or jewelry should not be worn near operating equipment or machinery. Equipment operators should tie back or otherwise secure loose hair and should understand that even short or tied-back hair could get entangled in moving equipment. Identify PTO-driven equipment components (such as drive lines, drive chains or gears) on all machinery. Maintain machine guarding according to the manufacturer s most current specifications and OSHA regulations. Examine PTO-driven machinery for U-shaped tunnel guards and replace them with retrofit guards recommended by the manufacturer or dealer. Check periodically with manufacturers, dealers, and University of California CONT. ON PAGE March 2014 Riverside County Agriculture -

3 US Department of Labor to hold MSPA registration and training fair for crew leader/supervisor and farm labor contractors in Coachella, CA On Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014 California The U.S. Department of Labor, in collaboration with the Riverside County Farm Bureau will provide a one-day training and registration outreach to employers and employees performing duties related to farm labor contractors (FLC) under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). The U.S. Department of Labor s Wage and Hour Division will provide training on disclosure, record keeping requirements, hours worked, wages paid, child labor, transportation, field sanitation, heat stress-osha, sexual harassment/discrimination-eeoc, and employee retaliation-alrb. A regional U.S. Department of Labor team will be present to assist all applicants with the FLC MSPA registration process. This event is offered in an effort to expedite the FLC certification process, FLCE s can also be registered during this event. Applicants do not have to pay any processing fees to obtain or update their certificates at this outreach. Interested parties can attend the event and process their FLC or FLCE certificates on-site. Applicants who have their fingerprints on file (within 3 years from date of event) with DOL will be issued their FLC certificate the same day. If no fingerprints are on file, completed applications will be received by DOL for processing and receipt given to applicant. WHO: WHAT: WHERE: WHEN: U.S. Department of Labor s Wage and Hour Division MSPA FLC/FLCE Training and Registration Fair Coachella Valley Water District (Building) Avenue 52 Coachella, CA MSPA Supervisor and FLC/FLCE Training & Registration MSPA Training in the training room: Wednesday, April 2, :00am - 12:30pm FLC Certification/Registration in the board room: Wednesday, April 2, :00am 6:00pm Departamento de Trabajo de Estado Unidos tendrá una feria de registro y entrenamiento MSPA para contratistas de trabajo agrícola en Coachella, CA el 2 de Abril de 2014 California - El Departamento de Trabajo de Estados Unidos, en colaboración con Riverside County Farm Bureau, proporcionará un entrenamiento y registro de extensión a los empleadores y los empleados que desempeñan funciones relacionadas con los contratistas de trabajo agrícola (FLC) bajo la Ley de Migrante y de Temporada Protección del Trabajador Agrícola (MSPA). Representantes del Departamento de Trabajo del División de Horas y Salarios también proporcionarán entrenamiento en revelación (de documentos), requisito de mantenimiento de registros, horas trabajadas, salarios, trabajo de menores de edad, transportacion, saneamiento de campo, estres por calor- OSHA, acoso sexual/descriminacion-eeoc, y represalia de empleado. Un equipo del Departamento de Trabajo de Estados Unidos regional estará presente para ayudar a todos los solicitantes con el proceso de registro FLC MSPA. Este evento se ofrece en un esfuerzo por acelerar el proceso de certificación FLC, que puede tardar hasta un mes en completarse. Los solicitantes no tienen que pagar ningún cargo de procesamiento para obtener o actualizar sus certificados en este evento. Las personas interesadas pueden participar en el evento y procesar sus certificados FLC o FLCE en el sitio. Los solicitantes que tienen sus huellas dactilares en el archivo (a menos de 3 años desde la fecha del evento) con el DOL se les dará el certificado de FLC el mismo día. Si no hay huellas dactilares en el archivo, las aplicaciones completadas serán recibidos por el Departamento de Trabajo para el procesamiento y el solicitante va recibir un recibo de aceptación. QUIEN: QUÉ: DÓNDE: Departamento de Trabajo de Estados Unidos División de Horas y Salarios MSPA FLC / FLCE MSPA formación y registro justo Coachella Valley Water District (Edificio) Avenue 52 Coachella, CA CUÁNDO: MSPA Supervisor y FLC/FLCE entrenamiento y procesamiento de aplicación Entrenamiento (training room): 2 de Abril, :00 a.m. 12 p.m. FLC aplicación de procesamiento (board room): 2 de Abril, :00a.m. 6:00p.m. - March 2014 Riverside County Agriculture - 3

4 Our 96th Annual Dinner Sponsors Diamond Sponsor Domenigoni Brothers Ranch Gold Sponsors American AgCredit 4 - March 2014 Riverside County Agriculture -

5 Farm machinery on roadways Each year, increasing numbers of accidents occur involving the transportation of farm machinery on roadways. Factors that increase the likelihood of accidents are increased automobile traffic in rural areas, city dwellers moving into agricultural areas that may be unaware of the need to approach farm equipment with extra caution. Farms are getting larger, causing operators to travel greater distances on roadways between fields. While there may be little you can about some circumstances, you do have the ability to control certain factors. Most accidents occur when the motor vehicle driver strikes the rear of a farm implement. The driver simply may not see it in time or fails to realize its size and/or the speed of the machinery. Lack of visibility is a major cause. Make sure your equipment has a clearly visible slow-moving vehicle (SMV) emblem, illuminated with reflective material. To make sure the motoring public sees your farm machinery. Keep SMV emblems clean and free of dirt. Replace damaged/faded SMV emblems immediately. Place reflective material on the extremities of wide machinery to make large and oversize equipment more clearly visible at night. To increase daytime visibility, apply fluorescent strips and markings. Install flashing amber lights to act as an early warning for motorists. Amber colored strobe lights and beacons can also be used. Consider installing turn signals and taillights. A large number of accidents occur because the motor vehicle driver didn t realize the farm machinery operator was making a turn. Keep all lighting in proper working order. Take the time to check machinery lighting before taking it on the road. Remember that visibility and identification are two key items. Several companies offer lighting and marking kits specifically designed for farm machinery. A small investment in lights and reflective material on your machinery could prevent a Gold Sponsors million-dollar claim. Finally, always be sure to check local laws and regulations. Article contributed by Nationwide Insurance, which is endorsed by the California Farm Bureau Federation. Margie Piercy, Sponsor Relations, can be reached at (530) , or piercym@ nationwide.com. - March 2014 Riverside County Agriculture - 5

6 ...CONT. FROM PAGE 2. Cooperative Extension farm advisors for updated information about retrofit guards for PTOs. Wait until both the driveline and themachinery have completely stopped moving before performing maintenance or adjustments. Follow the manufacturer s instructions whenever maintenance or adjustments are performed on PTO-driven machinery. Remember that a PTO can rotate at 1,000 times a minute. That's 16 times a second. Toss a six-foot rope over a spinning PTO and it will wrap around the shaft in less than a second. Now imagine that rope is your shoelace or sleeve. How fast could you pull free? Today, State Fund is the largest workers compensation carrier in California. State Fund has regional offices throughout the state, which provide a full range of services to policyholders and injured workers. We provide coverage to employers of all sizes, from mom and pop operations to major organizations. Since 1943, the California Farm Bureau and State Fund partnership has provided farmers with affordable worker compensation insurance coverage and accident prevention training for agricultural employers and their employees. In addition to providing farm and ranch employers with workers compensation insurance protection, we also have taken on the mission of assisting employers in providing safe places to work. For more information, call toll-free at (800) , or check the State Fund Web site at March 2014 Riverside County Agriculture -

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8 Riverside County AGRICULTURE The official publication of Riverside County Farm Bureau, Inc. A private, nonprofit organization serving farmers throughout Riverside County since 1917 Our 68th Year of Publication: Volume LXVIII, Number 3, March (USPS ) Published monthly by Riverside County Farm Bureau, Inc., a non-profi t organization serving farmers and ranchers at Box Springs Road, #102, Moreno Valley, California 92557, Telephone 951/ or Fax 951/ Subscriptions: $1 per year of membership dues. Periodicals postage paid at Riverside, California 92507, under act of March 3, POSTMASTER: Send address changes to RIVERSIDE COUNTY FARM BUREAU, Box Springs Rd., #102, Moreno Valley, CA CALENDAR OF EVENTS April 2nd RCFB and the Dept. of Labor present a Labor Contractors Workshop at CVWD beginning at 7:30 am. April 9th RCFB board meeting at Russo s Italian Restaurant in Banning beginning at 5:30 pm. April 16th LE/CL TMDL meeting at SAWPA 1:30 pm. April 17th CWAD meeting at the RCFB 9 am. April 22nd WRCAC meeting at Nuevo Water District 9 am. Seigler & Tweedlie, CPA INDIANA AVENUE, SUITE 211 RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA TELEPHONE (951) FAX (951) Serving the Inland Empire Farming Community - Financial Statements - Tax Return Preparation - Tax Planning & Estate Tax Strategies - Export Tax Deferrals 8 - March 2014 Riverside County Agriculture -