COVID 19 Daily Farmers Update 3/26/2020

— Written By and last updated by
en Español / em Português
Español

El inglés es el idioma de control de esta página. En la medida en que haya algún conflicto entre la traducción al inglés y la traducción, el inglés prevalece.

Al hacer clic en el enlace de traducción se activa un servicio de traducción gratuito para convertir la página al español. Al igual que con cualquier traducción por Internet, la conversión no es sensible al contexto y puede que no traduzca el texto en su significado original. NC State Extension no garantiza la exactitud del texto traducido. Por favor, tenga en cuenta que algunas aplicaciones y/o servicios pueden no funcionar como se espera cuando se traducen.


Português

Inglês é o idioma de controle desta página. Na medida que haja algum conflito entre o texto original em Inglês e a tradução, o Inglês prevalece.

Ao clicar no link de tradução, um serviço gratuito de tradução será ativado para converter a página para o Português. Como em qualquer tradução pela internet, a conversão não é sensivel ao contexto e pode não ocorrer a tradução para o significado orginal. O serviço de Extensão da Carolina do Norte (NC State Extension) não garante a exatidão do texto traduzido. Por favor, observe que algumas funções ou serviços podem não funcionar como esperado após a tradução.


English

English is the controlling language of this page. To the extent there is any conflict between the English text and the translation, English controls.

Clicking on the translation link activates a free translation service to convert the page to Spanish. As with any Internet translation, the conversion is not context-sensitive and may not translate the text to its original meaning. NC State Extension does not guarantee the accuracy of the translated text. Please note that some applications and/or services may not function as expected when translated.

Collapse ▲

NC State Extension Covid-19 Resources

NCDA & CS is taking preventative measures: Important!!!!

Many counties and cities of the state are already in a shelter in place / stay at home order or have announced shelter in place orders for the near future. NCDA$CS has developed two documents as method to notify law enforcement or anyone else that a person is involved in the essential agriculture industry:

  1. Notice of Essential Food and Agriculture Employee
    • The organization should complete and sign the form, which their designated employees can keep with them during necessary work activities and travel.
  2. Letter to N.C. Law Enforcement Regarding Essential Food and Agriculture Employees 
    • NCDA&CS sent this letter on March 25, 2020, to the five largest law enforcement associations in North Carolina to provide notice about essential employees in the agriculture industry of North Carolina. We are sharing here so our farm and agribusiness contacts can have a copy for their records.

STRAWBERRY COVID CHORES March 2020

Take Our Survey

Please take our COVID-19 Survey. The survey runs until 3/30 and is important for us to determine how we can support you best. The survey is anonymous and will only take 3 min.

TAKE OUR COVID-19 SURVEY

Webinars and Videos

NEW: Debbie Roos, a N.C. Cooperative Extension agent at the Chatham County Center, has developed a webinar on creating a free, online store for your farm. She will walk people through the process of setting up a basic store through Square which will allow farmers to accept pre-orders and payments. The webinar is free, but registration is required. See this webpage for more information on the webinar and registration.

NEW: The Exchange Bank is offering a free, online webinar entitled “Understanding the Coronavirus Government Financial Resource Options for your Small Business.” It will take place Thursday, March 26, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. EST. While it is free, it requires registration beforehand.

The University of Illinois has launched a COVID-19 webinar series. They meet every Tuesday and Friday from 12:00 to 12:30 p.m. EST with guest speakers, and they discuss a range of topics. See a list of webinars from University of Illinois.

Iowa Learning Farms will lead weekly webinars in order to replace their canceled extension events. They will stream their webinars over Zoom every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. EST.

Many workshops and extension events have been canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak. If you are in need of a refresher on pruning techniques or other practices, here are a few helpful links:

Financial Aid

The stimulus package approved by the Senate on Wednesday (3/25) includes aid for the agricultural sector, and it awaits approval by the House of Representatives. Among the many benefits included in the bill, $9.5 billion would be added to the CCC account specifically for livestock and specialty crops (like fruit, vegetables, and nuts). The article in Agri-Pulse also reports on other important elements of the bill:

  • “$15.5 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to cover an expected increase in demand as a result of the pandemic.
  • $8.8 billion for child nutrition programs.
  • $450 million for The Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP, which funds food distribution to food banks.
  • $100 million for additional rural broadband grants through USDA’s ReConnect program.
  • $33 million to the Food Safety and Inspection Service to cover the cost of temporary and intermittent workers, relocation of inspectors and overtime costs.
  • $25 million for the Rural Utilities Service to support telemedicine and distance learning services in rural areas.
  • $4 million to cover the cost of repatriating Foreign Agricultural Service staff”

NC Rapid Recovery Loan Program launched for small businesses with a funding source of $15 million. Managed by the NC Rural Center, loans can be given to eligible businesses for up to $50,000 with zero interest and no payments for up to six months. See the news release for more information.

RAFI-USA has announced to help NC farmers by issuing mini-grants for affected businesses.  Please sign up to receive updates via email directly from RAFI.

Please refer to the links below for financial resources that we have included in our previous updates:

Labor

Agricultural work is considered essential work. If the state issues a stay-at-home or shelter-in-place order, farmers and agricultural employees are still allowed to leave their homes to attend work. They will need printed documentation declaring their status, and it is recommended that they keep this documentation in their car or on their person. This document was created by the NCDA&CS is provided as a Google Doc and on the NCDA&CS COVID-19 website. Please also see the update posted on the NCSU Extension website explaining how the NCDA&CS is planning to assist farmers and agribusinesses in the event of a stay-at-home or shelter-in-place order.

While updates pertaining to COVID-19 and its effects on agricultural labor will appear on this website every Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday (and additional days if news breaks), please also see NC State Extension’s resources for farmers and farmworkers webpage.

Daily NC and Global COVID-19 Update

As of 3/26/2020, 12:36 p.m.: a total of 12,910 people in NC were tested for the virus. 636 people in NC were tested positive, 2 people have died in NC due to COVID-19.

NCDHHS Coronavirus Information Page

As of 3/26/2020, 6:45 p.m.: 529,093 people worldwide are known to be infected with the virus. 23,956 people worldwide have died due to COVID-19.

World-Wide Covid-19 GIS Tracker

This post was created by Emma Volk (evolk@ncsu.edu) and Mark Hoffmann