Kentucky’s Cooperative Extension Service is providing guidelines to farmers to help them safely welcome immigrants with H-2A work visas back to their farms in the midst of the pandemic.
“Producers know that if even one person in their operation contracts the virus, it could shutter their entire enterprise for at least two weeks,” Katie Pratt reports for the University of Kentucky, noting that about 780 Kentucky producers hired more than 8,300 H 2-A workers in 2019.
“The packets included COVID-19 information and guidance, best health practices and producer guidelines, all translated into Spanish,” Beau Neal, agriculture and natural resources extension agent from Daviess County, told Pratt.
“I also included some guidelines for the employers to maintain a healthy workplace environment for all H-2A employees. Doing this helps those employees and their coworkers stay safe and healthy, and to be on the same page as the producer in developing a plan moving forward to adhere to proper health guidelines in their work environment.”
