Farm Strong. Farm Safe.
Being farm strong and farm safe is important, no matter what we are facing as an industry. As farmers, we don’t just care about cows and crops, but we care about our people as well. It takes a team to ensure the food supply is produced and produced safely which means we need to keep all of our employees safe as well. Check out all of the ways below that farmers are keeping their farms strong and their employees safe all year long.
COVID-19 has brought about challenges for all essential workers in a variety of industries and agriculture is no different. Check out the following section of safety precautions that farmers are taking to ensure their team members stay safe & healthy during this global pandemic that we're all facing.
"Employee meetings were held in a different location that is more spread out than before. We provided handouts and discussed/explained the risk and new protocols. Each employee received three washable face coverings made with the proper fabric." ~Hemdale Farms, Seneca Castle, NY
"In response to COVID-19, we removed an older picnic table that we had in our break room that was more difficult to thoroughly clean and replaced it with easier to clean folding tables." ~El-Vi Farms, Newark, NY
"We are so grateful to Robert C. Haggett and his wonderful wife, Judee Haggett, for supplying us with these masks to protect our employees, including some in fabulous colors and patterns based off of Barbara Fisher's design!" ~Mapleview Dairy, Madrid, NY
"We will be having an all-employee meeting this week and instead of having one large meeting in our conference room, we will practice social distancing and break the meeting into three smaller meetings and it will be held in our produce warehouse." ~Hemdale Farms, Seneca Castle, NY
"We put our heads together to design a plan going forward for employees in regards to Coronavirus. We implemented it weeks ago. No travel. No grocery stores. No banking. We provide Instacart for our employees that we pick-up and make available per individual food requests. We cash their checks and wire their money back home if necessary. We have had increasing understanding and “buy-in” from employees. We appreciate them and need them. It goes both ways. Our goal is to keep everyone healthy – our team, both milking and crop/field, and support team, as well as our family, too." ~Mulligan Farm, Avon, NY
"We increased the break room space where our employees eat lunch to allow for social distancing. Only the appropriate number of chairs are in each break room to ensure ample space is provided." ~Hemdale Farms, Seneca Castle, NY
Signage is posted on the entrances to the farm to alert visitors and employees of safety policies and protocols. ~Walnut Ridge Dairy, Lansing, NY
Below are safety precautions that farmers and their employees follow all year long, not just during the current challenges we're facing.
Farms focus on safety all year long in a variety of aspects. Many farms require employees and visitors to wear highly-visible safety vests throughout the farm. Pictured here: Willow Bend Farm, Clifton Springs, NY
