Berrien County
Berrien County Extension
1737 Hillandale Road, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49022 /

P: 269-944-4126 F: 269-982-8666

/ E-mail:

April 2006

MSU Extension, Farm Bureau address agricultural labor issues

A mainstay in many agricultural industries is the need for labor. In today’s high-profile immigration-related news, growers need to know how to plan for the future, but more importantly, what to do for the current growing season.
Michigan State University and Berrien and Van Buren County Farm Bureaus co-sponsored an agricultural labor meeting in late March. More than 80 individuals took part in the day-long event, which featured Craig Anderson, Manager, Regulatory Compliance Assistance Program, Michigan Farm Bureau.
Additional speakers joined the meeting by phone to discuss guest worker programs and state and federal immigration issues. The farmers were brought up-to-date on issues in agricultural labor. Topics included youth employment, transportation issues, securing loads, workers compensation, Social Security numbers, labor housing, U.S. Department of Labor inspections, the Fair Labor Standards, the Migrant and the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.
On the immigration issue, attendees received the / most current information available in a conference call from a resource person in Washington, D.C. This presenter reported on the latest developments in the Congressional Subcommittee meeting on immigration.
According to responses from a follow-up evaluation, all respondents found the information valuable, with most indicating that the topics were either extremely valuable or somewhat valuable. One person commented, "Very good to have a review to see if there are new things.” Another meeting is now being planned for 2007 with input from the attendees.
Contact: Al Gaus, 269-944-4126
Focus on youth pork quality assurance training
In 2005, the National Pork Board enhanced is standards for certifying and re-certifying youths in Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) program, which is aimed at helping young people in 4-H and FFA livestock programs producing safe and wholesome food products.
MSU Extension educators pooled their resources to best serve the 600 to 700 youth swine exhibitors, including 5-8 year olds, in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties. Educators taught PQA concepts on an age-appropriate basis which took more time, effort, and trainers per session. Eight sessions were held in the tri-county area, with younger children split off from the older youths. Parent or guardians were required to attend with children younger than 9-years-old.
Continued
/ Michigan State University Extension helps people improve their lives through an educational process that applies knowledge to critical issues, needs and opportunities. Offices in counties across the state link the research of the land-grant university, MSU, to challenges facingcommunities. Citizens serving on county Extension councils regularly help select focus areas for programming. MSU Extension is funded jointly by county boards of commissioners,the state through Michigan State University and federally through the US Department of Agriculture. /
PQA Continued
Parents of 5-11 year olds reported feeling that their children learned more, the workshop was more valuable and that there were fewer distractions because they were separated from the older youths. Most attendees appreciated the smaller groups and felt they were given more attention.
For their creative work in organizing and conducting this event, seven MSU Extension staff members received the Team Effort Award from the Michigan Association of Extension 4-H Youth Staff at their Spring Conference on April 26th. Those recognized include: Deb Barrett, Beth Franz, Tom Guthrie, Dan Rajzer, Mike Staton, Jim Weaver, and Janice Zerbe.
Contact: Deb Barrett, 269-944-4126
Farmers plan to use MSU Extension information for profitable grain production
Efficiently and effectively managing insects, weeds, nematodes and diseases is essential to profitable corn and soybean production. New crop pests and evolving pest management technologies have combined to make pest management more complicated than ever.
The latest unbiased, research-based, pest management information was the subject of February's MSU Extension update, as 54 local grain producers and agronomists participated. Many of the producers own or operate some of the largest farms in the tri-county area.
According to written evaluations two-thirds expected the practices they learned to make their businesses more profitable, returning more than $156,000 to their farms and the southwestern Michigan economy. Additionally, more than three-quarters indicated that they plan to use what they learned to implement pest management changes for the 2006 growing season.
Contact: Mike Staton, 269-944-4126 /

Extension’s BSF program empowers at-risk families

Family education and support provided by a trained paraprofessional who is indigenous to low-income communities can effectively prevent child abuse and neglect.
MSU Extension program associate Henry López provides this support and education through the Building Strong Families (BSF) program to high-risk, low-income women who are pregnant or parents of infants to toddlers.
Through BSF, families are assessed to determine their strengths and greatest concerns. López provides education and support to empower parents to care for and nurture their children and improve their ability to provide for their families. Topics focuses on parenting, child development, and goal setting, and can include co-parenting and father involvement, nutrition, immunizations, breastfeeding and community resources.
So far this year López has worked with 23 English and Spanish-speaking families in Berrien County. In one family, mentally impaired parents were facing challenges included budgeting and house cleaning.
Through participation in BSF, they recognized their obligations, and the head of the household has gone from buying at least one unnecessary item every day, to weeks without unnecessary purchases. The family is now working on finding satisfaction in a clean and orderly house, and not on the purchase of a new item, “no matter how cheap it is.”
Contact: Zelda Felix-Mottley, 269-925-4822
Calendar
Monday fruit grower meetings
May 11 – Container Gardening
May 16 – The New Michigan Zoning Enabling Act
May 25 – Grape IPM Meeting, MSUE Office
May 30 – Basic Planning & Zoning Workshop
May 31, June 27 – Unusable Pesticide Collection
July 25 – Viticulture Field Day, SWMREC
MSU is an affirmative-action, equal opportunity institution, Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, or family status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Thomas G. Coon, Extension Director, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI 48824