New
York Farm Bureau will be sending daily alerts at this time to keep you
up-to-date on the latest COVID-19 news that may affect you, your farm
family and employees. We know things are constantly changing, but we will
do our best to keep you informed, offer guidance and share ways you may be
able to help. We will do this for as long as it is necessary. NYFB is a
community, and we are all in this together.
A
Message From State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball
While
New York State’s efforts to mitigate the impacts of the Coronavirus
(COVID-19) continue, I want to assure our community that farms, food and
beverage manufacturers, agri-businesses, operations responsible for animal
health, and related support industries are open and are not restricted from
operating to provide food for our families and care for our animals.
Agriculture and the food supply chain are essential industries and
exceptions have been made to ensure our vital work can continue.
The
Department continues its operations and inspections and is in constant
contact with our farms and agri-businesses. We are also encouraging
consumers to remain strong in their support of local farms and
agri-businesses during this time. It is more important now than ever that
New Yorkers know that the State and our agricultural community are working
together.
In an
effort to keep the industry informed on this rapidly evolving situation, we
have provided additional details and guidance on our website found here. It will be updated as new
information is available. Additional information and guidance are also
available on the Department of Health’s website found here.
I
thank our farmers and our entire food industry for their commitment and
contributions to agriculture and for maintaining the work and services that
ensure all New Yorkers have access to the food they need.
Governor’s
Workplace Restriction Executive Orders Exempts Farms and Agribusinesses
In an
effort to further control the spread of COVID-19 in our State, Gov. Cuomo
issued Executive Order (EO) 202.6 that restricts the number of employees in
the workplace. This was followed by an announcement today that workplace
restrictions would be increased from 50 percent to 75 percent.
However, these executive orders exempt food
processing, including, but not limited to those supplying goods and
services to this industry, such as agricultural operations,
agri-businesses, etc. and retail grocery stores, including
gas stations and convenience stores, from all restrictions imposed by
emergency executive orders issued as a result of this emergency. These
Executive Orders exempt businesses, vendors and services who provide goods
and supplies to these essential businesses. This Executive Order will go
into effect on March 20 at 8 pm. New York Farm Bureau has also petitioned
the Governor to include in this exemption for horticulturally-based farm
operations, along with equine operations, horse boarding businesses and
riding stables. Given the time sensitive nature of their business and
animal health concerns. The
letter to the Governor can be viewed here.
COVID-19
and Your Dairy, Webinar on Friday
Richard
Stup, PhD, Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development and Rob Lynch, DVM,
Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY will be hosting a webinar Friday, March 20 from
10-11 a.m. for Dairy Farmers. Topics include: why prevention of the
coronavirus/COVID-19 is important, steps that employers should take to
protect employees, animal health considerations, what to do if service providers
are not available, disaster contingency plans, cross-training of employees
who can fill other roles, business resources for employers, and pending
federal and state legislation related to coronavirus and employees. The
link to join can be found here
USDA,
DOL Announce Information Sharing to Assist H-2A Employers
Today,
March 19, 2020, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced a
partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S.
Department of Labor (DOL) to help facilitate the identification of foreign
and domestic workers that may be available and eligible to transfer to
other U.S. agricultural sector employers to fulfill critical workforce
needs within the U.S. under existing regulatory authority during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
USDA
and DOL have identified nearly 20,000 H-2A and H-2B certified positions
that have expiring contracts in the coming weeks. There will be workers
leaving these positions who could be available to transfer to a different
employer’s labor certification. The data, available on www.farmers.gov/manage/h2a,
includes the number of certified worker positions, the current employer
name and contact, attorney/agent name and contact, and the worksite
address. This information will be a resource to H-2A employers whose
workforce has been delayed because of travel restrictions or visa
processing limitations. Employers should be aware that all statutory and
regulatory requirements continue to apply. Employers are encouraged to
monitor www.travel.state.gov for the latest
information and should monitor the relevant Embassy/Consular websites for
specific operational information.
Congress
Passes 2nd Legislative Package, Includes Free Coronavirus Testing and Paid
Leave
Yesterday,
March 18, the President signed a second piece of legislation aimed at
providing support to individuals and businesses impacted by the
Coronavirus. Known as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the
legislation requires private health insurance plans, Medicare, Medicaid,
and CHIP to cover the cost of COVID-19 testing; it also provides free
COVID-19 testing for those without health insurance. It also provides
additional funding for nutrition programs for children to ensure they have
access to meals while schools are closed as well as funding to assist food
banks with food purchasing.
The
legislation creates a new federal emergency paid leave benefit program for
those impacted by the coronavirus. A
summary of those provisions can be found here.
Congress and the President continue talks about a third legislation package
that would address assistancefor businesses impacted by COVID-19. Once a
final package is passed, details will be sent through these alerts.
USDOT
Expands National Emergency Declaration for Commercial Vehicles
The
U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) has issued an expanded national emergency
declaration to provide hours-of-service regulatory relief to commercial
vehicle drivers transporting emergency relief in response to the nationwide
coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
This
Emergency Declaration allows motor carriers and drivers providing direct
assistance in support of relief efforts related to the COVID-19 outbreaks
are granted emergency relief from certain parts the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Regulations (FMCSR). Direct assistance means transportation and
other relief services provided by a motor carrier or its driver(s) incident
to the immediate restoration of essential services (such as medical care) or
essential supplies (such as food and fuel) related to COVID-19 outbreaks
during the emergency. DOT has indicated that this language includes
livestock and other perishables. It does not include feed at this time. A copy of the declaration can be
found here.
Agricultural
Producers Encouraged to Visit Farmers.Gov for Updates on USDA Services
As
proactive health measures are put in effect nationwide to reduce the spread
of coronavirus, the USDA is taking measures to ensure the safety of its
employees and customers. As a result, access to certain facilities may be
limited while remaining open for business. All service center visitors
wishing to conduct business with the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), or any other service center agency
are encouraged to call their service center to confirm availability for
in-person or phone appointments before visiting. Producers can find their service
center’s phone number here. Agricultural producers should
visit farmers.gov/coronavirus for the
latest information on available services and the latest status of service
centers impacted by these locally-specific health measures.
SWCC
Extends Deadlines for Available Programs
SWCC
will be extending the RFP deadlines for all currently available programs:
Round 26 Ag NPS, EBM Grown and Certified and High Efficiency Irrigation
Systems. The updated deadlines will also be reflected on the Department of
Ag and Markets website. Please see the information below for new deadline
information. Note, that all other submission/application requirements
indicated in each respective RFP remains the same.
-
Implementation
of High-Efficiency Agricultural Irrigation Water Management Systems
- Deadline for submittal of
questions: April 13, 2020
- Final Question and Answers
posted: April 22, 2020
- Deadline for Proposal
Submission: May
4, 2020 by 4:00 p.m. local time
- Implementation
of Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) Plans on New York State
Grown and Certified Farms (NYS G&C) Deadline for submittal of
questions: April 13, 202
- Final Question and Answers
posted: April 22, 2020
- Deadline for Proposal
Submission: May
4, 2020 by 4:00 p.m. local time
- Round 26
– Ag NPS Program
- Deadline for submittal of
questions: April 27, 2020
- Final Question and Answers
posted: May 4, 2020
- Deadline for Proposal Submission: May 18, 2020 by 4:30 p.m.
local time
NY
FarmNet Still Taking Calls
NY
FarmNet is open and available to take calls at 1 (800) 547-3276. These
calls are toll free, confidential, and available 24-7. Following the
guidelines of health and government officials in light of the Coronavirus
pandemic, NY FarmNet is temporarily limiting face-to-face meetings, visits
to farms, educational events, etc. They will work with farmers and
agri-service via phone, email, and webinar. Their hotline will be answered 24
hours a day, seven days a week, by a live person. NY FarmNet remains
committed to providing technical assistance in farm business management and
personal wellbeing to New York’s farm community. Visit NY FarmNet’s website
here.
New York DMV Update
The
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has posted information on
how the DMV is dealing with the current COVID-19 situation. While the DMV
has taken precautions to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus by
cleaning offices and having hand sanitizer available, DMV offices will
remain open. At this time, motorists are still required to get an annual
NYS safety inspection before their current inspection expires, as well as
renew their license and/or vehicle registration before their current
document expires.
For
those whose transaction does not require an in-person visit, it is
important to complete this transaction online. DMV offers many transactions
through their website without the need to visit
a DMV office. To help reduce the number of people in the offices, DMV is
processing in-person transactions on a reservation-only basis for all
state-run offices in the five boroughs of New York City, and in Nassau,
Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Albany and Onondaga counties. Based on this
policy, there will be no “walk-ins” allowed in the 27 State district
offices. Reservations can be made here or by calling the reservation
hotline at 1-518-626-8990. Those who need assistance may also call the
hotline for personalized service. Click here for more information and
updates.
If you have concerns
about how COVID-19 will affect your agricultural operation, please give us
a call. We can only help those who ask. Who knows, maybe your question will
cause us to get ahead of a problem instead of reacting to it after it has
become a problem.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
•
Click here for
the latest information from New York State on COVID-19.
• The CDC has created a website for the latest news on the
virus. Click here to
access it.
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