Best on-farm practice for Covid-19

Plan:

Risk assessment

What is the likelihood of you, or someone you are in close contact with getting Covid 19? Identify contingency plans in case you, your family or employees get sick.

If someone does get sick, ask yourself  who will do the following?

• Milking
• Observe heats and tail paint
• Draft cows for AI
• AI - cows & heifers
• Allocate grass
• Spread fertiliser
• Herd and move young stock
• Etc

Have the following lists and guidelines  in place:

• People: Key contacts list & numbers)
• Stock: Feeding regimes and stock numbers
• Supplies: Names and contacts
• Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for key tasks – e.g. milking, calf rearing, feeding etc. 

Information on drawing up SOPs is available here

Do:

People

• Ensure that someone familiar with the farm is available if a person needs to self-isolate
• Where there are a number of people working on the farm operate a staff rota
• Allocate specific people to specific tasks
• Keep in contact with your discussion group, advisor, friend or neighbour
• Think health and safety: More children on farm lead to higher risk of a farm accident

Maintain ‘social distancing’ with any essential callers including: vets, AI technicians, lorry drivers, contractors, stock buyers, relief milkers etc. Communicate using phone & whiteboards

Hygiene

• Hand detergents and paper towels for drying hands
• Clean all surfaces like tractor steering wheel, door handles, etc.
• Wear disposable gloves & change regularly
• Change clothes daily and wash at 60 degrees

Animals

• Have all necessary supplies on farm in advance of needing them
• When selling animals at home, have ‘for sale’ animals in one pen
• Call or text to tell the caller where the animals are
• Let the person view them on their own,

Health information on Covid-19 is available on the HSE website here

Farming Resilience

Mental Health Ireland along with Teagasc and the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) have partnered to co-host and co-deliver information and resources to you through a special Farming Resilience page during the month of April. The aim is to support farmers their families through the challenges being posed by Covid-19. Check out practical evidence-based ways to support personal and business resilience here

Protocols & how farmers are managing through the Covid - 19 Crisis