COVID-19 Daily Farmers Update 04/06/2020
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COVID-19 Daily Farmers Update 04/06/2020
News today:
- The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) extended its application deadline to April 15th. See more info.
- “On-farm Produce Safety for Small Growers in the Age of COVID-19”: Free, online webinar hosted by Michigan State University Extension (4/9/2020 @ 12 p.m. ET).
- Weekly webinar for Farmers Market Managers to discuss best practices under COVID-19 conditions
- “Farmworkers and Coronavirus: What you should know, and what you can do now”: Free, online webinar hosted by the Cornell Farmworkers Program (4/7/2020 @ 12 – 1 p.m.). Register online.
- Get your farm on the North Carolina map of farms offering pick-ups, curbside stands, and more.
- The March 2020 average food price index was down 7.8 points compared to April 2020 but 4.6 points higher compared to March 2019.
Worker and Food Safety:
- PPE Guidance for Farms (English and Spanish)
- The FDA has a new page entitled “Food Safety and the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).”
- Governor Cooper keeps U-Pick operations open
- How to set up a strawberry U-Pick during the COVID-19 pandemic
- USDA excel sheet to assess farmers’ needs for PPE: Send to foodsupplychain@usda.gov. Questions to: tutorr@ecu.edu
- The NCDA launched an agriculture assistance hotline on April 2. Please call: 1-866-747-9823
Webinars:
- Register now for a free webinar on creating a free online store for your farm. Apr 9, 7-9 p.m.
- Cleaning and Sanitizing workshop for small produce farmers (recorded, online workshop)
Paycheck Protection Program
- Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) v. Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) (as of 3/29)
- Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) (online as of 3/29)
- *UPDATED* Paycheck Protection Program Q&A (4/1)
- Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) (online as of 3/29)
Other Funding Resources:
- North Carolina COVID-19 Rapid Recovery for Small Business
- Golden LEAF Rapid Recovery Loans
- RAFI-USA will be offering emergency mini-grants for farmers. Please sign up now.
- The American Farmland Trust’s Farmer Relief Fund
- Facebook it offering Small Business Grants
Daily COVID-19 Updates as of 4/6/2020:
- North Carolina (11:00 a.m.): 2,870 positive/ 33 people dead
- USA: (7:28 p.m.): 366,614 positive/10,783 people dead
- World (7:28 p.m.): 1,345,048 positive/ 74,565 people dead
Newsletter
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Other Helpful Resources:
COVID-19: Farming Resources, NC State Extension
Food Safety, NC State Extension
COVID-19 Resources and Information, NC State Extension
Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) COVID-19 Resources
NCDA&CS COVID-19 Resources and important Documents
This post was created by Emma Volk (evolk@ncsu.edu) and Mark Hoffmann