COVID-19 Daily Farmers Update 04/06/2020

— Written by Mark Hoffmann | April 6, 2020 (Updated: Jan. 9, 2026, 6:26 a.m.)

COVID-19 Daily Farmers Update 04/06/2020

News today:

The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) extended its application deadline to April 15th.
“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).
“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)
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

Paycheck Protection Program (in collab. with NCDA&CS)

Other Funding Resources:

RAFI-USA will be offering emergency mini-grants for farmers.

Daily COVID-19 Updates as of 4/6/2020:

North Carolina (11:00 am): 2,870 positive/ 33 people dead
USA: (7:28pm): 366,614 positive/10,783 people dead
World (7:28pm): 1,345,048 positive/ 74,565 people dead

We highlight research from around the globe, shed light on the behind-the-scenes of extension, highlight NC State Horticulture graduate students, provide insightful tips into the science of farming,, seasonal recipes and many other things. Our first issue will come out at the end of April