Is your Farm or business prepared for Covid-19?

By: "Farm Tender" News
US & World News
Mar 16, 2020
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By John Gladigau - Executive Director at Bulla Burra Operations Pty Ltd

I don't really mean to make light of the situation, as its a serious question.

As a farming business we are only a few weeks away from beginning seeding, with a lot of preparation still to happen - and timing is obviously critical. It's the same on most farms. It's not easy to just put things on hold and delay the things we need to do to keep the feed and fibre cycle happening in a practical and productive way.

It could be argued that as an industry that fortunately we are already isolated and social distancing is the norm. But - we cannot be complacent.

Have you discussed what you plan to do if your farming activities are disrupted because people are sick? Or if supplies are disrupted? Have you put some thought into managing the next few months to lower the risks to your business, family and community.

At our 8,500 ha cropping farm (Bulla Burra) in the Northern Mallee of South Australia we have already had the discussion around managing seeding shifts, hopefully having some back up people available if people become ill, discussions around how we interact with each and tractor cab hygiene. We have also been talking with some of our suppliers about availability of fuel, fert and chemicals if there is a bottleneck. But, we are no experts - and are looking as much to others within the industry for your thoughts as well as trying to rationalise our own.

It's not a criticism - but there has been little talk about the effects on agriculture and how we should be expected to respond through this crisis, and seemingly not much comment from our industry leaders. I think we all agree that we need cool, calm and collected heads But we cannot also be blasé about it, and think we are immune from infection. And while I think we all understand that for most getting the virus is no big deal, we also need to do our bit to 'flatten the curve' to ensure there are medical services available to everyone who needs it, when they need it.

Should we limit who comes and goes on our properties - especially during a critical period like seeding where timeliness in critical? Do we need to encourage those older family members who still want to contribute because they will never retire and want to work till they drop - that now isn't the time to be stoic, because we still want them around next year and the year after? Do we need to look at how we operate during busy times, in which we tend to punish our bodies and potentially lower our immune systems making us more susceptible? Is this the year that we don't play social footy or netball because of the potential risk of infection to ourselves, our families and ultimately our businesses?

I don't really know.

What do you think?

Do you have plans or suggestions which you have thought about for your business?

Can we use this post, and by sharing it to other farming pages as a bit of a forum for the agricultural industry to have some discussion on this?

We are in unchartered territory. Yes - some of it may be over the top. But the virus is here and spreading, the world has momentarily stopped - and the agricultural community are going to be one of the centrepieces to the recovery. But we need to be sure we first keep ourselves safe so we can be best positioned to be there to help feed, clothe and support our communities in the future.

And keep safe everyone.

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