During Statewide Stay-At-Home Order:
Covid-19 Order: Ag Operations Considered Essential Activity
Agriculture Is an Essential Activity During Governor’s COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Order.
At 12:01 a.m. on Monday, March 30, 2020, the State of Kansas will begin a statewide Stay at Home Order issued by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly. The order is effective through April 19, 2020 and may be extended. The order directs all individuals to stay in their residences unless performing an essential activity. Agricultural operations are considered essential functions. This designation ensures that agricultural operations and those that support them can continue operating as normal. Governor Kelly’s order preserves the previously established Kansas Essential Functions Framework which categorized agriculture and agricultural operations as essential functions.
The order specifies that farm owners or workers should not be asked to provide documentation of their work status and allows law enforcement discretion to determine the appropriate course of action in a given situation. Although it should not be necessary, we have included a link below to a sample letter provided by our friends at the Kansas Livestock Association, that you can personalize to indicate that you or your employees are exempt from the stay-at-home order while performing essential functions. Kansas Corn, with our partners in the Kansas Agricultural Alliance, sent a letter to the Governor early last week to ensure agriculture would be included in the Essential Functions Framework if a statewide order was issued.
Kansas Essential Functions Framework
Critical Infrastructure Employee Sample Document
Kansas Corn Covid-19 Resource Page
We will continue to update our Covid-19 Resource page on the kscorn.com website. The page contains resources for the Covid-19 response, as well as information on Kansas Corn STEM’s resources for Continuous Learning for K-12 at-home learning.
kscorn.com Covid-19 Toolkit
Kansas Corn Is Working . . . from Home
Kansas Corn staff continue to work for Kansas corn farmers, but are now working from their home offices. If you need to contact us, here is the link to our Kansas Corn Staff Listing.
Take care, and we hope you have a safe planting season!