23
Mar
Mar
Farm Bureau COVID-19 Alert
Farm Bureau COVID-19 Alert
As you are no doubt aware, Governor Baker today put in additional restrictions relative to COVID-19 including the closing of non-essential businesses.
Please note that:
1. The Commonwealth has included agriculture as an essential business. Farms and related businesses and infrastructure can remain open during the emergency as it now stands. They have defined agriculture quite broadly. Farmers markets, farm stands, feed stores, etc may remain open. You can find a list of essential services at https://www.mass.gov/doc/
2. Please note that this is NOT a travel ban. At present, there are no restrictions on traveling within the Commonwealth. Farm owners and workers should be able to move freely between their homes and the farm. Some states with shelter-in-place orders do require documentation for those traveling in the course of doing essential business. If you are doing business in other states you should check with that state
We do recommend that all farms and workers traveling in the course of farm business have a copy of the MA Essential Services list on hand in the event that local officials question them. This should not happen, but the document is good insurance in the event you are questioned.
3. The MA Department of Agricultural Resources has a good page of information for farmers with questions about COVID-19. This can be found at https://www.mass.gov/
Farm Bureau will issue more alerts and notices as the situation dictates.