Examining cover crop agri-environmental program participation: Evidence from a western US farmer survey.

Agri-environmental programs (AEPs), which pay farmers to adopt conservation practices, are increasingly important environmental and agricultural policy tools used in both the US and the EU. Despite large budgetary shares allocated in a 20-year application window, several studies identify lower-than-expected environmental outcomes. In the US, reasons for low environmental outcomes include low participation rates, lack of program awareness, and poor targeting levels. Research has identified low levels of awareness and variation in participation across the US in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the largest working lands program in the US. Using a survey of Western US farmers, this paper provides an analysis of awareness and participation levels in cover crop AEPs in the Western US. Second, this paper analyzes motivations and barriers to participation in cover crop AEPs through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Third, the paper uses a survey experiment to examine different types of incentives. The results highlight that participation is low due to lack of awareness and policy barriers. Using a logistic regression, predictors of AEP participation include frequent contact with NRCS, having a succession plan, and a positive attitude toward governments' role in conservation programs. The survey experiment found that non-financial factors, such as more information on cover crops, is an effective policy incentive.

Mixed-Methods Assessment of Farmworkers' Perceptions of Workplace Compliance with Worker Protection Standards and Implications for Risk Perceptions and Protective Behaviors.

INTRODUCTION: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Worker Protection Standards is the primary set of legislation aimed at protecting farmworkers from occupational pesticide exposure in the United States. Previous studies suggest that worker adoption of Pesticide Protective Behaviors (PPBs) promoted by WPS is associated with lower urinary pesticide concentrations. However, adoption of PPBs is often outside of the control of individual farmworkers and dependent on workplace factors such as employer provisioning of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and access to trainings/resources. METHODS: We conducted a mixed-method study including urinary pesticide biomonitoring, surveys, and interviews with 62 Latinx farmworkers in southwestern Idaho from April to July 2022. We integrated findings across the various data sources to identify emergent themes relating to farmworkers' perceptions of workplace compliance with WPS and potential implications for their pesticide risk perceptions, protective behaviors, and urinary pesticide concentrations. RESULTS: Participants reported some indications of poor workplace compliance with WPS regulations, notably inconsistent access to clean handwashing stations and notification of pesticide applications. Some farmworkers, particularly pesticide applicators, viewed herbicides to be categorically safer than other classes of pesticides such as insecticides; these perceptions appeared to influence protective behaviors, such as the relatively low use of PPE while applying herbicides. These findings are underscored by the higher concentrations of biomarkers of herbicides, but not insecticides, among pesticide applicators compared with non-applicators (e.g. median 2,4-D concentrations = 1.40 µg/L among applicators and 0.69 µg/L among non-applicators). Participants further reported concerns regarding the inadequacy of pesticide safety training, pesticide drift, and the lack of communication regarding pesticide applications on and near fields where they are working. DISCUSSION: Participants' perceptions that herbicides are categorically safer than other pesticide classes is in direct conflict with WPS training, raising concerns about discrepancies between WPS instruction and other on-the-job training, as well as the inadequate provisioning of PPE during the application of certain pesticides. Our findings also suggest that current WPS regulations may not sufficiently address farmworkers' concerns, particularly in regard to pesticide drift.

Understanding Challenges to Well-Being among Latina FarmWorkers in Rural Idaho Using in an Interdisciplinary, Mixed-Methods Approach.

The aim of this study was to identify social, cultural and workplace-related risk factors affecting well-being among Latina farmworkers in rural Idaho. We recruited 70 Latina farmworkers from southwestern Idaho in 2019. We employed an inter-disciplinary, mixed-methods approach-including surveys, focus groups, interviews, and pesticide biomonitoring-to characterize multiple domains that influence well-being, including food security and access, housing conditions, social supports, access to medical care, and workplace safety. Six major themes emerged as primary challenges to Latina farmworkers' well-being. In the public sphere, study participants identified these challenges as long working hours, concerns regarding pesticide exposure, and lack of enforcement of regulatory protections. Participants' concerns regarding pesticide exposure were underscored by biological sampling results; multiple biomarkers of pesticide exposure were detected in all samples, with the highest concentrations measured in samples collected from women who reported mixing, loading or applying pesticides. Within the private sphere, food security and provisioning, childcare responsibilities, and social isolation were identified as significant challenges to well-being. Gender, ethnicity, and geography emerged as important, intersecting statuses that shaped the life experiences of these agricultural workers. Our findings suggest that gender may play a particularly critical role in the unique challenges facing Latina farmworkers. As a result, the services and regulations needed to support well-being in this population may be highly specific, and almost certainly include attention to work-family dynamics, pesticide exposure, and social connections.