Cornell holds COVID-19 video conference for dairy farmers Friday

Cornell Cooperative Extension is holding a seminar by video conference Friday morning for dairy farmers about how to manage their businesses with COVID-19 in mind. 

The conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. with ZOOM video conferencing technology, and can be accessed at by this link. 

Richard Stup, an agricultural workforce development specialist at Cornell, and one of two people presenting in the conference, said dairy farms aren’t under any unique restrictions due to the pandemic but they need to know how to protect the health of workers and their animals. Dairy farms are considered an essential business as a food producer, allowing them to continue to employ 100 percent of their workers, but they could be in a difficult situation if workers become ill. 

“Unlike other businesses, these are live animals that have to be cared for,” Stup said. “Unlike other businesses, you can’t shut off the lights and walk away.”  

The seminar will include farm-specific information on sanitation methods to prevent spread of the virus, as well as questions guiding farms to create a back-up plan if supplies or workers are affected.  

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