Florida’s livestock industry is a vital component of the state’s agricultural economy, supporting over 1.56 million cattle and 385,000 horses and contributing more than $8.3 billion annually, while also providing employment, food security, and sustainable land management. Despite recent recovery from weather-related losses, the industry faces a renewed threat from the New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax), an obligate parasitic fly that causes severe tissue damage, productivity losses, and sometimes death in livestock, wildlife, and, in rare cases, humans. Although eradicated from the United States in the 1960s, the parasite remains endemic in parts of South America and has recently re-emerged in the Caribbean, with past incursions in Florida and recent regional outbreaks underscoring the risk of reintroduction. Florida’s subtropical climate, high livestock densities, and strong trade, tourism, and wildlife connections make the state particularly vulnerable to future infestations, with potentially severe economic, ecological, and public health consequences.

The post Modeling New World Screwworm (Cochliomyia Hominivorax) Infestation Scenarios and Their Economic Impact on Florida’s Livestock Industry first appeared on Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety.

The post Youth voice on the impacts of heat-related illness and climate change first appeared on Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety.

On September 22, 2025, Jenna and Carolyn traveled to Mississippi to deliver the Gear Up for Ag program at MSU, which included the newly developed immersive Eye Safety 360° video. During this visit, a student focus group-coordinated with OP Mccubbins-provided valuable feedback that is now guiding the final edits to the video.

The post Enhancing agricultural safety education (eye safety) through immersive technology first appeared on Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety.

The investigative team held in-depth interviews with farmers (in person and via video) on farming practices, zoonotic risk factors, and climate perspectives and adaptations. Serum was obtained, and tested for exposure to endemic flaviviruses
(dengue virus, West Nile virus, Saint Louis encephalitis virus), endemic alphaviruses (eastern equine encephalitis virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus/Everglades strain, chikungunya virus), and tick-borne pathogens (Rickettsia species, Ehrlichia species, Borrelia burgdorferi). Thirty participants were enrolled, of whom 14 (47%) had been exposed to one or more vector-borne pathogens. This exposure was not significantly associated with tree cover or agroforestry practice. While the sample size is small, agroforestry practices do not appear to pose a risk for vector-borne pathogens.

The post Exploring the significance of agroforestry and regenerative agriculture in farmer’s health and risk of zoonotic diseases first appeared on Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety.

While low back pain (LBP) is highly prevalent and potentially disabling, few intervention studies to mitigate LBP have been conducted in the labor-intensive agriculture sectors, and no evidence-based intervention studies exist specific to horticulture workers. In a preliminary study, horticulture workers in Florida reported a high incidence of opioid use attributed to work-related injury or stress. Given the challenges of deploying interventions in small teams, self-management offers an attractive and feasible option to address work-related risk factors and more effectively manage LBP. The primary purpose of this hybrid comparative effectiveness and implementation study is to investigate the effectiveness of self-management strategies to increase awareness of opioid risk, manage pain, and adjust work-related ergonomic risk to address this high-priority public health problem. The specific aims align with 1) NIOSH strategic goals to reduce musculoskeletal disorders related to lifting and physical repetitive stress, and 2) Healthy People 2030 objectives to increase self-management of chronic pain that frequently limits work activities. We are aiming to determine the effectiveness of self-management strategies, including ergonomic modifications using participatory methods for improving LBP among horticulture workers. We will investigate changes in prevalence of high-impact chronic pain, pain with work tasks, medication and substance use, and psychological factors. We aim to recruit 122 English and Spanish-speaking horticulture workers in Florida and randomly assign clusters (teams) to the two intervention groups. Short self-management video modules will introduce risks of opioid use, self-management of pain, and simple ergonomic strategies and participants will be asked to choose 1 self-management strategy and 1 workplace strategies. Surveys will be collected at baseline, pre- and post-intervention, with follow-ups at 3- and 6-months. Participants will be videoed performing work tasks to calculate the NIOSH lifting index and REBA risk factors for horticulture tasks. We will also identify contextual factors impacting engagement, adoption, effectiveness, and implementation. Interviews, focus groups, and field notes will be used to explain results and establish patterns to  inform future translation. Ultimately if either intervention is effective, mitigating pain positively impacts quality of life, productivity, and retention, and increasing non-pharmacological self-management addresses an important public health issue.  

The post Effectiveness and Implementation of Self-Management for Horticulture Workers  first appeared on Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety.

Chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) is an emerging public health concern for agricultural workers in various regions within the subtropics and tropics. Recognition of this condition is growing among agricultural communities and has been described in regions found in Central America, Sri Lanka, India, Tunisia, and Taiwan. The pathologic mechanisms leading to this form of nephropathy remain a mystery, but the process appears to be multifactorial. A combination of chronic heat stress and dehydration, prolonged exposure to agrochemicals and drinking water pollutants, and ongoing exposure to toxins produced by plants, microorganisms, and/or animals, have all been hypothesized to contribute to CKDu in agricultural communities. 

Research is needed to better understand those at-risk for this condition, and our multidisciplinary team will investigate the incidence and prevalence of CKDu among agricultural communities here in the state of Florida. Through our clinical networks, our team will analyze electronic health record and administrative claim data to examine occupational disparities in CKDu, geographical hotspots that may exist and develop a multi-level and geospatial model for CKDu risk factors in our state. 

The post Detection of Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology in Florida by Repurposing a Statewide Data Infrastructure for Surveillance first appeared on Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety.

The post Exploring mental health and natural disasters in agricultural communities in Puerto Rico first appeared on Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety.

The post Pilot study of mobile app monitoring to prevent heat-related symptoms among Hispanic farmworkers first appeared on Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety.