Safety and Tree Fruit Pt 1

Safety and Tree Fruit Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. Maintaining a safe and healthy workplace has taken on new meaning this year, and that includes agriculture. The state handed down a list of measures for ag employers just days before the earliest harvest were set to begin, making it an even greater challenge.

Mark Powers, president of the Northwest Horticultural Council says it’s especially difficult indoor settings like the packing facilities …

POWERS … “At least in most of the fruit packing houses, it’s not really shoulder to shoulder. Usually, there are spaces between, but it’s not always six feet. And so, the personal protective equipment’s important and packers are looking to provide those when they can get it.”

Powers says the PPE’s aren’t all that easy to keep in supply …

POWERS … “But, they’re going and educating and helping people to understand what the concerns are out there and making sure that they provide a safe environment for them.”

This is something, Powers says that we all have a stake in …

POWERS … “And, they’ve got to have people that are healthy and able to come to work every day and they’re implementing all the protocols based on the best available guidance from the CDC, OSHA, and FDA. You know, they’re looking and working with local public health folks and employment safety agencies and ag departments leaving no rock unturned to try and find the best available information procedures to implement in their packing houses.”

Tune in tomorrow for more on keeping ag workers safe and healthy during this pandemic, and making sure the message is getting out.

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