Protecting farm workers is paramount during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Jorge Delgado, Alltech on-farm dairy training specialist.

Delgado said the company is now using online platforms to train workers on dairy farms across the country how to be more efficient, productive and engaged while staying safe and healthy.

“Finding workers to milk cows is extremely difficult,” said Delgado. “If they lose even half their labor force, it’s going to be really hard to replace these people and of course it’s going to be really hard to keep milking cows.”

Delgado said while some farm owners and managers are being proactive and educating workers about COVID-19, many have not yet taken this step. Alltech is working to make this process easier by providing free informational posters and other resources to dairy farmers. Delgado said many workers on dairy farms who grew up in other parts of the world may not have had access to the education they need to understand what a virus is and how they can protect themselves. He believes taking care of workers right now is the first step to producing quality milk and healthy animals.

“At these moments we need to take the chance to train people on these COVID-19 protocols,” Delgado said. “It’s a big issue and if we don’t train people on what a virus is and how it attacks our bodies and how we can protect ourselves, we’re not doing our jobs.”

Alltech has developed a bilingual infograph pdf which can be downloaded for employers to share with on-farm workers – Alltech COVID-19 Dairy ENG SP.

Learn more in this interview with Delgado.
Alltech ONE Virtual interview with Jorge Delgado (12:16)