Milking time on a dairy farm doesn’t stop for a pandemic.
Hopefully, neither does milk pick-up and processing.
The P.E.I. dairy industry is urging even more rigorous sanitation procedures in order to keep the supply chain rolling.
It’s vitally important for the dairy industry to make sure all employees stay healthy, said Harold MacNevin, chairman of the Dairy Farmers of Prince Edward Island.
Farmers and farm staff can do their part by staying out of the milk room if they are sick – even a little – or have returned from travel.
The milk room is where the milk is stored after it leaves the cows and before its picked up and taken to the processing plant.
It’s the critical point these days, said MacNevin.
“Our milk truck arrives every two days to pick up our milk . We certainly do not want exposure to our milk truck drivers who then go to the milk plant, with further risk of exposing the rest of the staff.”
- Harold MacNevin
“Our milk truck arrives every two days to pick up our milk . We certainly do not want exposure to our milk truck drivers who then go to the milk plant, with further risk of exposing the rest of the staff.”
If a processor has to close because of the virus, it leaves farmers very vulnerable, he said.
“If you’re a dairy farmer and you can’t ship your milk, the bills keep coming in,” said MacNevin.
If an outbreak did close Island processors, trucking milk to an off-Island plant would be a logistical challenge.
“If you had to transfer all the milk across the bridge every day – we produce 230,000 litres daily on the Island – that’s a lot of trucks,”
At ADL, the Island’s largest milk processor, spokesman Jamie MacPhail said they’re making sure MacNevin’s worst-case scenario does not materialize.
“As a company, we’re putting our staff producer/ owner and customer safety first and foremost, but we are continuing to process product to ensure the public have access to food,” said MacPhail.
The employees at ADL are nervous, like everyone, but will keep working to deliver food to Islanders, he said.
“Our staff are committed and passionate about what they do, and they see themselves as being a critical partner in ensuring the public has food and that’s what we’re trying to ensure.”
The milk truck drivers have extra sanitation measures to follow while on the farms. When they get to the processing plant, drivers have no engagement with staff there, either.
Inside the processing plant, workers have implemented increased sanitation, and recommendations from Health P.E.I. are followed. Anyone who has returned from a trip or is feeling unwell is asked to stay home.
Should the situation change dramatically in the coming days or weeks, MacPhail said ADL is ready for that, too.
“We have an emergency preparedness contingency plans to ensure all P.E.I. milk is picked up and processed. At this time, all of our staff are working, but we have a plan if that changes."
And keep buying milk and cheese, he said.
“It there’s one thing I could stress, it’s the importance of of people to do what they can to buy local and support their neighbours.”
