You have a job to do. As soon as a suitable window is in front of you, you’ll take to the fields and plant your 2020 crops.
While muscle memory will take over for many of the tasks, you have a new layer of uncertainty and potential danger: the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The predicted peak of the COVID-19 outbreak likely will hit as spring planting season shifts into high gear, says Rusty Lee, University of Missouri Extension field specialist in agronomy.
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Physical distancing becomes difficult as you receive seed and chemical deliveries. Shipments of seed bags and chemical containers arrive on trucks that have been to other farms. This could spell trouble if precautions are not taken, he says.
In a recent news release, Lee provides these guidelines to keep you, your team and your family safe this spring.
- Limit traffic in and out of the farm.
- Schedule all input deliveries for when you can be present.
- Maintain a 6-foot distance from others.
- Don’t let anyone besides your team operate equipment.
- Stock tractors and trucks with sanitizing supplies.
- Wipe down doorknobs, steering wheels, radio knobs, grab handles, fuel tank covers and other surfaces people might touch. The National Institutes of Health reports that the virus can survive up to three days on plastic and stainless steel surfaces and up to 24 hours on paper surfaces.
- Reformat team meetings to use technology. Call or text instructions to reduce contact.
- Analyze and reduce risk around mealtimes and food delivered to the field.
- Develop a written contingency plan in case of illness of the farmer, family members or workers. Decide who can fill vital roles and share this plan with those involved.
Maintain equipment, but also take care of your health, he says. “You are your farm and family’s most important asset.”
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While much of the world has been silenced by quarantine, American agriculture farms on. This season, the crops will still get planted, the livestock will be fed, and food will continue to be grown, just like it’s been for generations.
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