Agriculture

Workers in agriculture, fisheries and forestry are among those at greatest risk nationally for injury and work-related health problems. Additionally, work-related fatalities are nearly seven times higher in these industries compared to all other industries in the United States. With the goal of reducing the incidence and severity of chronic and acute health and safety problems in these occupational groups, the University of Florida’s Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, or SCCAHS, has been awarded $7 million in renewed funding from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An editorial by UF professors, published in the American Journal of Public Health, casts a spotlight on the plight of guest agricultural workers during the pandemic.

A new study adds four additional species to the growing list of palm trees susceptible to lethal bronzing disease, for a revised total of 16. Researchers with UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute and the Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences sampled hundreds of palms in Florida to identify the new hosts, all of which are common ornamentals found throughout central and southern portions of the state. They also found the disease has spread to eight new counties.

The University of Florida has received a grant of nearly $10 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, for a five-year project to explore the occupational safety and health of people working in agriculture, fishing and forestry in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and North and South Carolina.