Paul Allen, chairman of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, encourages farmers to prepare now for next growing season with respect to worker safety.
FFVA strongly urges every grower and farm labor contractor to implement these measures to the utmost of your ability. Download the checklist, review it, print it out and begin working now to designate a workplace coordinator responsible for COVID-19 assessment and control. Growers who work with a farm labor contractor should require that these measures are followed. I plan to make this a priority for my operations and you should, too.
In addition, your county health departments and emergency management offices are prepared to help with testing, sanitizing supplies and PPE. We’ve included a list of each county’s health department contact information in the packet for your convenience.
FFVA also is discussing the development of training videos and materials with some industry partners to serve as additional tools and resources. The association continues to be in almost daily contact with state agriculture and public health officials and stands ready to help you in any way it can.
This is not optional. If we can’t reduce the spread of COVID-19, we may not have a workforce to harvest our crops next season. Our grower/shipper community must be united on the importance of worker safety during COVID-19. If even one employer or farm labor contractor fails to meet his or her responsibility, the entire industry feels the impact.
Thank you in advance for doing your part.
Sincerely,
Paul Allen
FFVA Chair