I sure didn’t expect my first communication with you to focus on  ‘cranberries coping with covid-19’, but we farm the ground we’ve got, not the ground we wish we had. You may be seeing some PPP information for your lenders, but scroll down if you want guidance on managing deliveries, your staffing plan, and the Families First Recovery Act.   Some info comes from Extension, some I wrote, and some are from endcoronavirus.org.  I want to make sure you have all the information you need to operate effectively and safely through this season, so if you have questions on any of it, give me a call. 

Financial impacts:
Farmer eligibility and sign up for the Paycheck Protection Program began April 3, 2020. This program provides forgivable loans to small businesses to pay their employees during the COVID-19 crisis. This can cover payroll, health insurance, local and state taxes, and even self-employment income (although that’s more paperwork). 

The Families First Recovery Act specifies paid leave for people who need to stay home because of coronavirus exposure. The Act makes funds available for farms (and other employers) in need of it.

Employee Impacts:
What’s your staffing plan if covid-19 hits your farm? Consider ways to reduce transmission risk on your farm while everyone is healthy, and make contingency plans in case extra help is needed.

How to operate safely:
Managing Visitors and Deliveries—a good plan for contact with the outside world can reduce your marsh’s risk. Using cell phones and arranging product drop-off without contact is best. 

Employee Communication: 
You reduce your farm’s risk when you encourage your employees to distance safely. These two guides from endcoronavirus.org are not farm-specific, but one lists essential guidelines if someone needs to quarantine, and the other contains a list of questions you can ask your employees so you can assess their off-farm risk together. 

I’m looking forward to meeting you by zoom, phone, and email for now; and to learning all about your marshes as soon as we can do that safely! And until we can meet in person, take advantage of being outdoors, and be proud of your essential contributions to our state, and to the dinner tables of families throughout the world. 

Stay safe,
Allison

Allison Jonjak
Cranberry Outreach Specialist 
University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension
400 Market St, Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494
612.276.2872
allison.jonjak@wisc.edu

This article was posted in Cranberry and tagged Cranberries.