Developing Heat Adaptation Strategies to Sustain Farm Laborer Health and Productivity in Florida Agriculture

Commodities

Practices

This project examines how increasing exposure to extreme heat affects farm worker health, labor capacity, and the agricultural production systems in Florida. When temperatures are hotter than usual, farm workers, who are essential to labor-intensive fruit and vegetable production, face heightened risks of heat-related illness, leading to work disruptions, reduced productivity, turnover and retention issues and increased operational challenges for producers. Despite these impacts, it remains difficult to integrate environmental working conditions into sustainable agriculture strategies. These issues will continue to be important when the seasonal temperatures are hotter than usual.

Solutions to extreme heat risks in agriculture must be grounded in the lived experiences of farm workers, supervisors, and growers. Using a qualitative, community-engaged research design, this project will conduct semi-structured interviews with key specialty crop stakeholders across South Florida and North Central Florida. The study will document experiences of heat exposure, identify key social and occupational drivers of vulnerability, and assess current mitigation practices such as hydration, shade, and work-rest cycles. It will also explore strategies that support rest, cooling, and recovery outside of work to help maintain worker health and performance. Findings will be analyzed using thematic methods and contextualized with environmental data.

A central component of the project is the co-development of practical heat adaptation strategies with stakeholders. By generating actionable recommendations, this project will enhance farm worker quality of life, sustain labor productivity, and strengthen the long-term viability of agricultural production in Florida and the Southern region.

1. Develop a farm worker-centered heat hazard framework for agricultural labor systems
   Develop and refine a typology of extreme heat conditions (examples temperature intensity, humidity, and seasonal variation) based on literature and empirical insights from farm worker experiences in Florida.
2. Identify key social and occupational drivers of vulnerability
   Examine how sociodemographic, community, and work-related conditions (housing, language, employment arrangements) shape farm workers' exposure and responses to extreme heat.
3. Analyze farm worker perceptions and existing risk mitigation practices
   Assess farm workers' knowledge, perceptions, and use of mitigation strategies (hydration, shade, work-rest cycles), and identify barriers and facilitators to their adoption under real farm conditions.
4. Develop actionable, community- and farm-level adaptation strategies
   Generate and refine, with stakeholders (growers, extension agents, and farm worker organizations), practical and scalable strategies that improve worker safety and quality of life while supporting farm productivity.