In This Issue
1. Frost and Freezes Last Night
2. Insecticide Notes
3. U.S. Department of Labor Announces Agricultural Enforcement Plans for Ohio
by Bob Precheur
What are the consequences on vegetable crops and what might you see in the next few days.
ASPARAGUS: Frost and freezes will kill spears and they usually turn them back and wilt. Production will be slowed but should resume. Yield or vigor may be affected depending where you are in the cutting season.
BROCCOLI and CAULIFLOWER: Injury to the growing point may result in no heads or several small heads. In cauliflower, plants may button (development of a small head) depending on the stage of development. Some plantings may be normal.
COLLARDS and KALE: premature bolting is a possibility.
RADISH: Some bolting, but much of the crop will be normal.
SWEET CORN: Where there is frost or freeze injury, plants in the fourth or fifth leaf stage will regrow since the growing point is below the ground. In fields where plants are beyond the 6th leaf stage, these fields will probably need to be replanted. Frosted fields where plants are able to recover will be later in maturity than normal. During prolonged cold weather, plants will be yellow and in some cases purple due to the cold weather. The purple color is due to phosphorus deficiency. Normal color will return as temperatures rebound.
When to Expect Frost and Using Dewpoint Temperatures: Keep watch on the dewpoint temperatures. Temperatures at night usually fall to the dewpoint temperature especially if the sky is clear and there is no wind. If the air is dry enough and dewpoints are below 32 degrees, there is a good chance of frost. Low lying areas may receive frost even though dewpoints are at or above 32 degrees because cold air settles in these areas. On Tuesday evening at 4 PM, dewpoint temperatures in central OH were already around 28 to 29 degrees. By following dewpoint temperatures, you will have some extra time to prepare whatever frost protection measures are available to you. Dewpoint temperatures are not normally given by local radio or TV stations but they can easily be found on the WEB. You can use the VegNet website and click on Weather Links. Scroll down the page to go to the National Weather Service Office links for your location or go to the OSU weather homepage at: http://twister.sbs.ohio-state.edu/ and click on Ohio weather. Also you can use commercial sites like accuweather.com
Celeste Welty, Ph.D
Lorsban (chlorpyrifos) is now available in a new formulation, a 75WG. Vegetable crops that can be treated with this product are asparagus, sweet corn, dry bulb onions, sweet potato, cabbage, broccoli, radish, collards, kale, and Chinese cabbage. This formulation is replacing the old 50W formulation. Lorsban 75WG is made by Dow but marketed by Gowan. Field trials by Dow have indicated performance of the 75WG equal to or better than that obtained with the 4E or 50W formulations. Potential for phytotoxicity with the 75WG on sensitive crops is less than that observed with the 4E formulation. Rainfastness is significantly greater for the 75WG than either the 4E or 50W formulations. The 75WG formulation has low odor compared to other formulations.
Dimethoate use has been cancelled on some vegetable crops: spinach, chard, head lettuce, tomatillo, broccoli raab, and fennel. Cancellation was effective 28 January 2004. Dimethoate products with these uses on the label are permitted for sale and distribution for one year after this date. Product can be applied to these crops until the supply with the old label is depleted.
Kryocide (cryolite) now includes pumpkin on its label; its use on cucurbits had previously been for just squash, melons, and cucumbers. It controls cucumber beetles. Kryocide is made by Cerexagri.
Dimilin 25W is registered for use on peppers. Dimilin is an insect growth regulator that contains the active ingredient diflubenzuron. It is made by Uniroyal/Crompton. On bell and non-bell peppers, it controls leaf-feeding caterpillars including beet armyworm and fall armyworm. The PHI is 7 days, the REI is 12 hours, and there is a limit of 5 applications per year.
Ohio's special local needs label (24c label) for Diazinon AG500 on potatoes has been revised. It is now restricted to one soil application per growing season. It is allowed for application only by ground equipment with a minimum volume of 10 gal per acre or 2 gal per 1000 sq ft. Aerial application is no longer allowed. The label is posted on the internet at:
http://pested.osu.edu/documents/RESOURCE.FRK/24%20C%20Labels/OH01002.pdf
by John Wargowsky, Executive Director, Mid American Ag and Hort Services
Numerous agricultural employers, farm labor contractors and migrant housing providers in Ohio received a reminder from the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor that compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) is important.
I recently met with WHD officials to discuss their enforcement initiative for Ohio. They intend to target agricultural employers subject to MSPA with a particular emphasis on housing and transportation standards. WHD officials wish to assist employers in understanding their requirements. This article is adapted from WHD's notification to those employers they
have on record.
The FLSA requires the payment of at least the minimum wage, currently $5.15 per hour. Most farm operations are exempt from the FLSA overtime provisions, but commercial packers, food processors, canneries and landscapers are not considered farm operations under FLSA. Employees of these non-farm operations are entitled to overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours per week. The FLSA also contains child labor requirements for both agricultural and non-agricultural operations. The child labor standards in non-agricultural operations such as commercial packers, food processors, canneries and landscapers are more stringent than for farm operations. The FLSA also requires keeping specific time and payroll records for all covered employees.
MSPA applies to covered agricultural employers, associations, farm labor contractors and providers of migrant workers housing. Agricultural employers include anyone who owns or operates a farm, ranch, processing plant, cannery, gin packing shed or nursery, or who produces or conditions seed, and who either recruits, solicits, hires, employs, furnishes or transports any migrant or seasonal agricultural worker. Farm labor contractors and their employers must be licensed to furnish, solicit, hire, employ, recruit, transport or house migrant or seasonal workers. Agricultural employers are required to verify the licensed status of any farm labor contractor. You can ask to see the license and make a copy or
you may call 1-866-487-9243 to verify the licensing.
Under MSPA, all persons who own or operate or control property used to house migrant agricultural workers must ensure that housing safety and health standards are met and that the property is inspected and licensed prior to occupancy. Any person who transports or causes the transportation of migrant and seasonal agricultural workers must comply with licensing, vehicle insurance and vehicle safety requirements. MSPA also has record keeping, posting and employee notification requirements.
Under joint employment principles that apply to both FLSA and MSPA, persons who use the services of farm labor contractors are almost always joint employers of the workers and both parties are responsible for compliance. If either party fails to comply with the legal requirements, then the other party is liable.
WHD encourages employers to visit www.wagehour.dol.gov or call their office at 614-469-5678 for questions or to receive the following list of publications. Fax requests of information for information may also be sent to 614-469-5428.
FLSA Handy Reference Guide
Poster, FLSA, agriculture - English
Poster, FLSA, agriculture - Spanish
Child Labor rules in agriculture
FLSA Record Keeping
Poster, MSPA
Fact Sheet #35, Joint Employment
Poster, FLSA, non-agriculture - English
Poster, FLSA, non-agriculture - Spanish
Child Labor rules in non-agriculture
FLSA Overtime rules non-agriculture
MSPA Regulations Part 500
General Agriculture packet that includes FLSA Posters (agriculture), MSPA posters, MSPA disclosure forms, Child Labor in agriculture rules, Record Keeping Fact Sheet #21, Joint Employment Fact Sheet #35, MSPA Regulations Part 500, Field Sanitation Fact Sheet
MAAHS stands ready to assist its members in complying with these regulations. All are welcome to visit www.midamservices.org for more information or to contact the organization at 614-246-8286 or labor@ofbf.org to learn more about becoming a member.
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