Information on COVID-19 is available on every news outlet and social media platform, but finding reliable, fact-based information requires research (and maybe some healthy skepticism). To help dairy farms continue operating smoothly, Alltech has compiled a list of best practices based on information provided by the United States’ Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While the information provided is specifically for dairy farms, much of it can be used in the context of hog and poultry facilities as well.
For general information on COVID-19, including transmission, symptoms and what to do if you fall ill, visit Alltech’s website. The following list can also be found on their website:
What can I do to help protect myself and my coworkers at my dairy?
People can protect themselves from respiratory diseases by taking the following preventive measures every day:
- Avoid close contact with sick people, both on and outside of your dairy;
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth if your hands have not been washed;
- Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol;
- Wash your hands before you eat after working in the milking parlor or other areas of the dairy;
- Ask the dairy manager or owner to keep the restrooms stocked with disinfectants and soap;
- Always wear milking gloves;
- Constantly change milking gloves;
- When you get home after working in the dairy, always take a shower and wash your work clothes;
- Keep the bathrooms and kitchen area in your workplace clean and disinfected;
- Keep tractors clean and disinfected; and
- Keep social distance.
In addition to these measures, Jorge Delgado, Alltech’s dairy employee training expert, put together a fact sheet that can help all employees understand the virus and what they can do to help prevent it on the farm. It is available as a printable resource in English and Spanish. Consider printing it out and posting it around your farm or providing each employee with a copy.
