Agricultural Occupational and Environmental Health
Overview
Oregon's agriculture industry presents a diversity rarely seen in other
regions of the United States. Oregon has become an important leading producer of
crops ranging from marionberries to pears. Oregon's Willamette Valley,
which stretches from Portland south through Salem is one of the state's
most fertile regions. Each summer tons of blackberries, strawberries,
raspberries, marionberries and blueberries are cultivated, harvested and
sold around the state, and exported throughout the world. Farther east in
the Columbia Gorge the sweet cherry harvest draws thousands of fruit
seekers to the banks of the Columbia River to enjoy the fruit picked
over a short three-week harvest. In autumn this same region bustles
with the harvest of a spectacular variety of pears and apples. Along
Oregon's southwest coastline cranberry bogs sustain the local industry.
Farther north vineyards, Christmas tree farms and nurseries mark
the landscape. In eastern Oregon, where the topography resembles that of
the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Montana, livestock roam the plains
while alfalfa and hay fields stretch as far as the eye can see.
Many of Oregon's plentiful crops require maintenance and harvest by
hand, and each year thousands of farmworkers help to meet the elevated labor
requirements to produce the crops. Some of these farmworkers live in Oregon
year 'round while others migrate to the area during harvest time. Nearly all of these workers are Latino, originating from Mexico.
Follow the links below to learn about our research with farmworker families, children
and adolescents.
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