COVID-19 Update
To our valued farmers, colleagues and friends,
We'd like to update you on some changes related to COVID-19 social distancing mandates, and how it may impact our interactions with you. We remain committed to you and the agricultural industry and will continue to do our best to be your agricultural information resource during this extremely challenging time.
Our primary goal is to not spread the virus, and help achieve the most rapid and successful end to the current situation.
• Staff will be available to you by phone, email and, if essential and possible, a pre-arranged farm visit. Please understand that depending on the staff and the request we may need to use technology to help us troubleshoot problems. At no time do we want to put you or the educators at risk for spreading or contracting the virus.
• Many of the Cornell Cooperative Extension county offices and the Hudson Valley Research Lab are currently or may soon be closed to the public. Please call before you visit to confirm their status.
• In-person meetings and programs have been cancelled indefinitely. Please visit our website at https://enych.cce.cornell.edu/ for updates on programming or call 518-746-2553 with questions. Many programs and trainings will be offered via remote access using a program called ZOOM which is free for you to download and use. This information will be sent out with the program it is associated with.
• Newsletters and other means of educational programming will continue as scheduled, but most will be electronic versions. At this time we have no access to printers/copiers for large scale mailings, but we are looking into our options for printing and mailing through an outside source.
• Podcasts and instructional videos that provide information on production, marketing and other relevant topics are being developed and uploaded to our website.
We will continue to send updated information electronically to inform you and your farm staff about resources that will help navigate the impact of COVID-19 on your farm.
For more information you can visit:
Cornell Food Safety Extension team website: https://instituteforfoodsafety.cornell.edu/resources/coronavirus-covid-19/
CCE NY EDEN, the Extension Disaster Education Network: https://eden.cce.cornell.edu/home/coronavirus-response/
This is an unprecedented situation, and none of us are sure how it will unfold. Please call us with suggestions, comments and just to talk. Farmers are some of the most resilient and ingenious people on the planet, so your feedback is crucial.
Thank you for growing our food, and thanks for your continued support of Cornell Cooperative Extension. Please be safe!
Resources from CCE ENYCHP!
We are developing new ways to connect with the CCE ENYCHP team this year!
We have a Youtube page located at this link. Check out videos on Table Grape Production, Pest Updates and the
20 Minute Ag Manager - in 4 Minutes series.
We have a
Facebook Page here as well as an
Instagram page. We keep these places updated with current projects, events, and other interesting articles and deadlines.
There are also text alerts available. Fruit and vegetable farmers in 17 Eastern NY counties can now receive real time alerts on high risk disease and pest outbreaks texted directly to their cell phone. The Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture program, which is supported by local Cornell Cooperative Extension associations, will now offer text alerts to those that enroll in our program in 2019.
The text alerts will be reserved for important crop alerts that could impact management decisions immediately. For instance, if there were an outbreak of Late Blight in the area, this would be transmitted to vegetable growers.
Farmers can choose the crop for which they wish to receive updates. Additionally they can request that Ag Business Alerts be sent to them. These alerts might include due dates for crop insurance deadlines, market opportunities etc.
If you have questions, please contact enychp@cornell.edu
COVID-19 Impact on Farm Businesses in New York
March 27, 2020
Agricultural Business Management specialist Liz Higgins discusses some of the impacts of COVID-19 on farms in New York. Higgins clarifies the designation of horticultural operations as essential businesses, talks about social distancing protocols for retail operations, discusses impacts on H2A visa employees, and presents some financial resources for farms suffering financial loss due to the pandemic.
If you have questions or recommendations for topics to cover on future episodes focused on COVID-19, please email eg572@cornell.edu or call (845) 293-3832 and leave a message.
Resources:
Cornell COVID-19 Resources:
General Questions & Links:
https://eden.cce.cornell.edu/
Food Production, Processing & Safety Questions:
https://instituteforfoodsafety.cornell.edu/coronavirus-covid-19/
Employment & Agricultural Workforce Questions:
http://agworkforce.cals.cornell.edu/
Cornell Small Farms Resiliency Resources:
https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/resources/farm-resilience/
Financial & Mental Health Resources for Farmers:
https://www.nyfarmnet.org/
Interim Guidance for Horticulture (March 24) NYS Ag and Markets https://agriculture.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/03/guidanceforthehorticultureindustry.pdf
Link to request designation as an “essential business” in NYS (only for businesses not covered by exemptions under Executive Order 202.6) https://esd.ny.gov/content/request-designation-essential-business-purposes-executive-order-2026
Updates from USDA on H2A visa situation due to COVID-19 https://www.farmers.gov/manage/h2a
COVID-19 and Your Produce Farm webinar April 2nd from 10-11:30: Steps that produce farm managers and individuals working with fruit and vegetable farms should consider to protect their workforce, their business, and their markets https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_i_YI5CX8QXmEMHO2GLKKiA
Guidance from New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets on Cleaning and Disinfection of Food Retail Stores:
https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/03/cleaningfoodstorescovid-19.pdf
Guidance from the New York Farmers’ Market Federation:
http://www.nyfarmersmarket.com/wp-content/uploads/Covid-19-Guidelines-for-Farmers-Markets-updated.pdf
American Farmland Trust Farmer Relief Fund: Grants for up to $1,000 per farm
https://farmland.org/farmer-relief-fund/
Ulster County Project Resilience:
https://ulstercountyny.gov/sites/default/files/documents/environment/Project%20Resilience_Guidelines%20for%20Restaurants_3.18.20.pdf
Small Business Association Disaster Loan Assistance:
https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela
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