Voice of the American Farmer: Coping with COVID
28 May 2020 On April 6, Tom Wood, General Manager for Belchim Crop Protection, USA wrote for AgriBusiness Global “Who Will Harvest in the New World?” as the COVID-19 virus spread. At the time, farmers were just starting to come to grips with how the COVID-19 pandemic would impact their farms, their livelihoods, and the fate of their permanent and temporary workforce.
That article discussed how “essential” farmers in the U.S. are ensuring the food supply remains plentiful and moving across our country, asking: who will assist in the planting, cultivating, and picking of crops this year; and the author provided tips on how farmers could lend a hand to their neighbors during this unknown and scary time.
We received a lot of positive feedback and afterward reached out to farmers we work with to discuss how the pandemic was impacting them.
Here’s what we heard from Frank Ratto, President and Owner of Ratto Bros., Inc.
Ratto Bros. is a fourth generation family-owned business that grows a variety of leafy green vegetables on approximately 1,500 acres in Modesto, CA, and 500 acres in Yuma, AZ. Typically, Ratto Bros. turns the ground three to five times annually depending on the season and crop. They utilize a range of new technologies and conservation measures, including GPS tractor guidance technology, resulting in better crop yields and precision water flow for irrigation. Solar power also runs facilities at the farm – including an 80,000-square-foot cold storage building. Additionally, the farm employs water conservation strategies, such as recycled irrigation water to assist with dust control.
Keeping America Moving
When we asked Frank if he had ever seen something as big as COVID-19, he said: “I’m 60 years old, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen something as dramatic. Obviously, 9/11 was very tragic and dramatic, but being on the West Coast, we didn’t suffer as much as those on the East Coast. COVID-19 is sobering and shows you how small we really are.”
Earlier in April as Frank was making his rounds around his California farm, he asked a new employee how she was doing. The employee is a single mother of two and her response took Frank aback, “I am grateful…grateful that I have a job to come to every day because the farm is in the business of feeding people around the world,” she said. She then explained that she recently left a job at a transportation dispatch company; a company where all of her old co-workers are now furloughed and struggling to support their families.
“Sometimes you lose sight of it, but when it comes down to it, our employees are our family and we are grateful for their hard work and dedication each day. It’s really important for us to make sure employees are comfortable in the worst of times and have the best work environment to come to. This crisis has shaken everyone.”
Coming Together As a Community
The April 6 article also talked about how it was going to take a community coming together to get through the COVID-19 crisis. It’s touching to hear how Frank Ratto is bringing his farm and his community together:
“Earlier in April, our employees would go to the grocery store and couldn’t find meats or fruits or vegetables,” he said. “So, we went ahead and provided vegetables for them to take home. We did a meat drive so our employees could purchase whatever they wanted. Six hundred cases of meat were sold! Now our employees can go home with something to their families and have one less thing to worry about. It’s at a time like this when the best in people comes out and there’s a lot of good will going on right now. We are also making up boxes of vegetables for our friends and families and donating to elderly individuals and food banks.”
Increasing Standard Operating Procedures
Long before the COVID-19, Ratto Bros. had clear Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in place to ensure the safety and cleanliness of food grown and shipped from the farm to spots across the globe.
“Of course, we have SOPs to provide safe, healthy produce, but now with COVID, we are doing EVERYTHING MORE,” said Frank. “From the fields to the office, we are making sure our employees maintain the appropriate distance from each other so they don’t get sick. There’s more hand washing. Our cleaning staff are wiping surfaces and doorknobs 24/7. Drivers who come to the farm to pick up produce aren’t allowed in to watch produce loaded onto trucks. Now, they wait outside and are segregated from our employees for their safety and safety of our employees.”
The State of Your Farm
During this unprecedented time in our nation’s history, Belchim USA is invested in our deep relationships with growers and believe it’s important to continue to give a voice to those who work tirelessly to continue to supply every one of us with fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables. We hope to hear from other farmers about how this pandemic is impacting their farms, workers and livelihoods.
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