COVID-19 RESOURCES

Important! State Guidance for Farms to Prevent/Respond to COVID-19

New York state has released official guidance specific to farms addressing COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus). You can find the document titled "Interim Guidance for Prevention and Response
of COVID-19 at Farms" at this link: https://agriculture.ny.gov/interim-guidance-prevention-and-response-covid-19-farms. The document covers: cleaning and disinfection, face coverings, social distancing, high-risk locations, coordination with local health departments, employee health screening, quarantine/isolation, and farm-provided employee housing.

A companion document is a helpful checklist for farms to be sure they have covered every required item: https://agriculture.ny.gov/covid-19-operator-checklist-farms.

Also included is a tipsheet intended for farm workers (https://agriculture.ny.gov/covid-19-prevention-tips-farmworkers). This document is presently in English but should be available in more languages soon, and I recommend that you distribute it to all employees. Please carefully read the last section of the document titled "Empower Yourself," this section informs workers about how to file complaints. Make sure that your business is in full compliance with all federal and state COVID-19-related sick leave and paid family leave requirements and that you are communicating this information to employees, see this post (https://agworkforce.cals.cornell.edu/2020/04/01/covid-19-employee-leave-and-farm-employers/) for more information.

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By Richard Stup, Cornell University. Permission granted to repost, quote, and reprint with author attribution.
The post State Guidance for Farms to Prevent/Respond to COVID-19 appeared first in The Ag Workforce Journal 

http://agworkforce.cals.cornell.edu/2020/05/28/important-state-guidance-for-farms-to-prevent-respond-to-covid-19/

USDA Issues First Coronavirus Food Assistance Program Payments

(Washington, D.C., June 4, 2020) - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) has already approved more than $545 million in payments to producers who have applied for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. FSA began taking applications May 26, and the agency has received over 86,000 applications for this important relief program.

"The coronavirus has hurt America's farmers, ranchers, and producers, and these payments directed by President Trump will help this critical industry weather the current pandemic so they can continue to plant and harvest a safe, nutritious, and affordable crop for the American people," said Secretary Perdue. "We have tools and resources available to help producers understand the program and enable them to work with Farm Service Agency staff to complete applications as smoothly and efficiently as possible and get payments into the pockets of our patriotic farmers."

In the first six days of the application period, FSA has already made payments to more than 35,000 producers. Out of the gate, the top five states for CFAP payments are Illinois, Kansas, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and South Dakota. USDA has released data on application progress and program payments and will release further updates each Monday at 2:00pm ET. The report can be viewed at farmers.gov/cfap.

FSA will accept applications through August 28, 2020. Through CFAP, USDA is making available $16 billion in financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline due to COVID-19 and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production, and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities.

In order to do this, producers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date nationwide, as funds remain available.

Getting Help from FSA
New customers seeking one-on-one support with the CFAP application process can call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to offer general assistance. This is a recommended first step before a producer engages the team at the FSA county office at their local USDA Service Center.

Producers can download the CFAP application and other eligibility forms from farmers.gov/cfap. Also, on that webpage, producers can find a payment calculator to help producers identify sales and inventory records needed to apply and calculate potential payments. Producers self-certify their records when applying for CFAP and that documentation is not submitted with the application. However, producers may be asked for their documentation to support the certification of eligible commodities, so producers should retain the information used to complete their application.

Those who use the online calculator tool will be able to print a pre-filled CFAP application, sign it, and submit it to your local FSA office either electronically or via hand delivery through an office drop box. Please contact your local office to determine the preferred delivery method for your local office. Team members at FSA county offices will be able to answer detailed questions and help producers apply quickly and efficiently through phone and online tools. Find contact information for your local office at farmers.gov/cfap.

Policy Clarifications
FSA has been working with stakeholder groups to provide further clarification to producers on the CFAP program. For example, the agency has published a matrix of common marketing contracts that impact eligibility for non-specialty crops and has provided a table that crosswalks common livestock terms to CFAP cattle categories. Updated information can be found in the frequently asked questions section of the CFAP website.

More Information
To find the latest information on CFAP, visit farmers.gov/CFAP or call 877-508-8364.

USDA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment only, and field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. While program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with producers by phone and using online tools whenever possible. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with the FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or any other Service Center agency are required to call their Service Center to schedule a phone appointment. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.  

https://www.farmers.gov/coronavirus

Resources for COVID Testing Farm Employees

Assortment of articles and a fact sheet to be used as a resource for communicating with farmers and farm employees regarding testing initiatives.

https://enych.cce.cornell.edu/submission.php?id=738&crumb=business|business

How to Talk about COVID-19 Vaccination with Your Employees

​The decision to receive the COVID-19 vaccine is a highly personal one, yet each individual's decision has profound implications for public health. At the farm level, that makes farmer and farm worker vaccination an important risk management issue. The more people on your farm who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the lower your risk of experiencing a COVID outbreak with consequences for employee health and farm operations.

As a manager, your words and actions have the potential to influence employee attitudes about the vaccine. How can you communicate effectively about COVID-19 vaccination with your family members and employees? Here is a list of Do's and Don'ts to help you have productive conversations that lead to more vaccinations.

How to Talk about COVID (PDF; 453 KB)

Getting Your Employees Vaccinated

Right now everyone who is a NYS resident or who works or attends school in NYS and is over the age of 16 is eligible for the COVID vaccination. The vaccine is always free and in most cases documentation of insurance coverage is not required.

COVID Vaccine - April 2021 (PDF; 214 KB)

GENERAL

Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE)

The Cornell Cooperative Extension website provides an overview of CCE programs across New York State.

http://cce.cornell.edu

Winter Storage Resource Guide - Vegetables

Topics include: Growing a healthy Crop and keeping it that way in storage, storage conditions, construction of coolers, controls and thermostats, monitoring and more advanced controls

https://enych.cce.cornell.edu/submission.php?id=509&crumb=current_projects|

Cornell Fruit

Cornell University fruit site including berry news.

http://fruit.cornell.edu/

Growing for Wholesale, Grading and Packing Guide

Find the guides here

Agricultural Worker Protection Standard-WPS Guide

Do you need clarification on the WPS (Worker Protection Standard) regulations?  Please view this useful resource from the US EPA. Click here for the chart

New York Berry News

New York Berry News is a monthly online publication that provides a statewide perspective on the production of berry crops in New York.

http://blogs.cornell.edu/fruit/category/berry-news/

New York Fruit Quarterly

The New York Fruit Quarterly is printed 4 times a year providing fruit and technology updates.

https://nyshs.org/fruit-quarterly/

Scaffold Fruit Journal

Scaffolds Fruit Journal archived journals provided weekly update on pest management and crop development.

https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/41369

BUSINESS

Cornell Small Farms Program

https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/

Small Farms Online Courses

Find them here

Cornell Cooperative Extension Ag Exchange

http://moodle.cce.cornell.edu/

GUIDELINES

Cornell Veg Crop & Pest Management Guidelines

Integrated Crop and Pest Management Guidelines for Commercial Vegetable provides up-to-date vegetable crop production information for New York State. Included are cultural and pest management strategies for the major vegetable crops grown in New York State. It has been designed as a practical guide for vegetable crop producers, crop consultants, ag chemical dealers, and others who advise vegetable crop producers.

Guidelines may be purchased from The Cornell Store. You may purchase a print copy or online access.

https://store.cornell.edu/c-875-pmep-guidelines.aspx

Cornell Pest Management Guidelines

Cornell Pest Management Guidelines for Commercial Tree Fruit & Berry Crops can be purchased here.

https://store.cornell.edu/c-875-pmep-guidelines.aspx

Organic Production Guides

Organic Integrated Pest Management for 8 vegetable groups, tree & small fruit, and grapes, and more

https://hdl.handle.net/1813/41246

GREENHOUSE & TUNNELS

Cornell University High Tunnel

This site provides growers with more information from Cornell's high tunnel team: types of structures, business and marketing resources, and crops that grow particularly well in the tunnel environment.

http://hightunnels.cals.cornell.edu/

SARE Season Extension Topic Room

A section of the Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) website, the season extension topic room provides nationwide research in the areas of variety trials, fertility management, pest management, water management, energy, and marketing and economics.

http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Topic-Rooms/Season-Extension-Topic-Room

PESTS

How to Take a Photo fro Crop Diagnostics

Capturing diagnostically useful images is not as simple as snapping a picture of cute children or animals.

How to Take a Photo of Crop Diagnostics (PDF; 675 KB)

2021 SWD Insecticide Quick Guides

SWD insecticides for berries

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/fruit/pdfs/swd/berry-insecticides.pdf

Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila

A Quick Guide to Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in New York Berry Crops

Compiled by Greg Loeb, Laura McDermott, Peter Jentsch, Tess Grasswitz, & Juliet Carroll, Cornell University. Updated regularly.

https://rvpadmin.cce.cornell.edu/uploads/doc_578.pdf

Network for Environment & Weather Awareness (NEWA)

Awareness for disease, insect and weather forecasts.

The following links provide information and learning resources for NEWA 

NEWA apple tools - learning resources

NEWA Blog - updates

NEWA Get Help - FAQs and weather station resources

http://newa.cornell.edu/

NYS IPM Program

Developing sustainable ways to manage pests and help people to use methods that minimize environmental, health, and economic risks.

https://cals.cornell.edu/new-york-state-integrated-pest-management

SOIL HEALTH

SARE Cover Crop Topic Room

A section of the Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) website, the cover crop topic room provides educational materials developed from cover crop research. Topics include selection and management, economics, establishment, rotations, soil and fertility management, water management, pest management, and no-till.

http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Topic-Rooms/Cover-Crop-Topic-Room

Cornell Soil Health

Information to help you return your soil to a healthy state or keep an already good soil productive.

http://soilhealth.cals.cornell.edu

The Cornell Nutrient Analysis Laboratory

Provide accurate and cost effective analysis of soil (Cornell Soil Health Test, Illinois Soil Nutrient Test, other specialized soil tests), plant and water samples.

http://cnal.cals.cornell.edu

Vegetable Field Meetings with Dr. Steve Reiners

July 14, 2025 : Herkimer County - Ivan Martin's Farm
Herkimer, NY

July 15, 2025 : Washington County - Hand Melon Farm
Greenwich, NY

July 16, 2025 : Ulster County - Wallkill View Farm
New Paultz, NY

2025 Berry Twilight Meetings

July 2, 2025 : Berry Twilight Meeting at Dressel Farms
New Paltz, NY

July 16, 2025 : Berry Twilight Meeting at Samascott Orchards
Kinderhook, NY

August 6, 2025 : Berry Twilight Meeting at Fishkill Farms
Hopewell Junction, NY

Champlain Valley Orchard Field Afternoon

July 17, 2025 : Champlain Valley Orchard Field Afternoon
Chazy, NY