The Virginia Farm Bureau’s page provides producers with info on where to get supplies and other necessities
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A state farm organization has created a webpage where farmers can go for information during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Virginia Farm Bureau’s Farmer Resources page includes links to resources for state and federal programs, marketing tips, stress management strategies and information on how to sell products directly to consumers.
Farmers wanted to learn more information about these kinds of topics, said Pam Wiley, the director of communications with the Virginia Farm Bureau.
“We started hearing from our members who had concerns about their ability to continue buying supplies, transport goods, hire workers and those sorts of things,” she told Farms.com. “We figured, for every farmer trying to contact their local farm bureau office, there’s one sitting at home wondering where answers will come from. We wanted to do something to help all of them.”
Farm Bureau staff will update the website weekly with new information or as programming becomes available, Wiley said.
Producers appreciate the online resource.
Livestock farmers can’t slow down production very much, so having the necessary information to operate during the coronavirus outbreak is important, said Dave Norford, president of the Virginia Cattlemen’s Association.
“Cattle still have to be fed and grass is still growing, so farms have to keep going,” he told Farms.com. “We can’t back up our marketing very much. Sooner or later the cattle have to go. S, the more information we have moving forward, the better marketing decisions we can make.”
The unknown of how the effects of the virus will continue to unfold is weighing on farmers, Norford said.
“I hear from other farmers that the uncertainty is the worst thing out there,” he said. “At least if you knew what the future held, whether good or bad, you’d be able to plan better. All the unanswered questions make it tough right now.”