1 00:00:00,210 --> 00:00:02,220 - As you may have noticed as you joined, 2 00:00:02,220 --> 00:00:05,360 you were muted to cut down on background noise, 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:07,668 but at any time if you have questions 4 00:00:07,668 --> 00:00:11,810 or technical difficulties type into the chat box. 5 00:00:11,810 --> 00:00:14,477 If you're not so familiar with Zoom 6 00:00:14,477 --> 00:00:16,040 wiggle your mouse around, 7 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:19,973 and you should see a chat box that you can click on. 8 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,700 So type into the chat box at any time. 9 00:00:23,700 --> 00:00:25,830 If you're calling in from the phone 10 00:00:25,830 --> 00:00:28,580 and you wanna join the conversation, 11 00:00:28,580 --> 00:00:31,040 and it's a time for people to chime in 12 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:35,320 you can press star six to unmute or mute yourself. 13 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:39,176 And if you wanna chime in by raising your hand 14 00:00:39,176 --> 00:00:42,950 you can do the old fashioned thing of raising your hand 15 00:00:42,950 --> 00:00:44,310 or waving or whatever 16 00:00:44,310 --> 00:00:46,450 and we'll be looking out for you. 17 00:00:46,450 --> 00:00:51,450 Or there is a raise hand button in the reactions section, 18 00:00:52,319 --> 00:00:56,200 or sometimes in the participant box. 19 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:58,660 This conversation will be recorded 20 00:00:58,660 --> 00:01:02,030 and there is closed captioning available. 21 00:01:02,030 --> 00:01:04,880 There's a link in the chat and here on the screen 22 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:07,283 for you to access the closed captioning. 23 00:01:08,220 --> 00:01:10,980 The recording will be posted on our website 24 00:01:12,100 --> 00:01:15,470 as along with information about future sessions 25 00:01:15,470 --> 00:01:19,610 and how to sign up for an on-farm consultation. 26 00:01:19,610 --> 00:01:21,273 Shall we move to the next slide? 27 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:26,300 So we're talking about getting ready 28 00:01:26,300 --> 00:01:27,580 for pick your own today. 29 00:01:27,580 --> 00:01:29,270 My name is Lisa Chase. 30 00:01:29,270 --> 00:01:31,410 I'm with the University of Vermont Extension 31 00:01:31,410 --> 00:01:34,460 and the Vermont Tourism Research Center. 32 00:01:34,460 --> 00:01:37,130 And with us today, we have Claudia Schmidt 33 00:01:37,130 --> 00:01:38,830 from Penn State Extension, 34 00:01:38,830 --> 00:01:42,670 and Deb Colitas from Valley Fruits and Veggies 35 00:01:42,670 --> 00:01:45,390 and Digital Networks Superstar 36 00:01:45,390 --> 00:01:48,570 in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. 37 00:01:48,570 --> 00:01:50,250 Before they introduce themselves 38 00:01:50,250 --> 00:01:52,750 and before we launch into our topic 39 00:01:54,060 --> 00:01:56,080 I'm gonna set up a poll. 40 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:58,093 Do you see that poll on your screens? 41 00:01:59,130 --> 00:02:01,010 Give me a thumbs up, okay. 42 00:02:01,010 --> 00:02:03,040 It looks like a lot of you already know what to do, 43 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,730 I can see the numbers coming in already. 44 00:02:05,730 --> 00:02:08,340 For those of you who are new to polls 45 00:02:08,340 --> 00:02:12,070 check as many boxes as hats that you wear 46 00:02:12,070 --> 00:02:16,260 and we know that many of you wear many hats. 47 00:02:16,260 --> 00:02:20,733 We left off you know; mom's chauffer you know, 48 00:02:21,890 --> 00:02:24,340 bathroom cleaner and some of the other hot hats 49 00:02:24,340 --> 00:02:25,980 that many of us wear, but 50 00:02:27,980 --> 00:02:30,290 feel free to click the boxes. 51 00:02:30,290 --> 00:02:34,030 And then, if we were all together in a room 52 00:02:34,030 --> 00:02:37,930 we'd maybe do a quick round-robin of who's here with us. 53 00:02:37,930 --> 00:02:41,140 We're not, we're still doing this virtually. 54 00:02:41,140 --> 00:02:44,490 So take a moment to type into chat 55 00:02:44,490 --> 00:02:46,450 if you're willing to share who you are. 56 00:02:46,450 --> 00:02:50,550 Type into chat who you are, where you're from, 57 00:02:50,550 --> 00:02:55,490 and any questions or thoughts or things you wanna share. 58 00:02:55,490 --> 00:02:57,350 And, of course, if you typed in other, 59 00:02:57,350 --> 00:02:58,970 feel free to put that into chat. 60 00:02:58,970 --> 00:03:01,620 But even if you didn't type in other 61 00:03:01,620 --> 00:03:05,210 by all means share and let us know who you are 62 00:03:05,210 --> 00:03:07,160 and what you're thinking. 63 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:09,390 The results should be showing now. 64 00:03:09,390 --> 00:03:14,390 So it looks like where about 60% farmers growers, 65 00:03:14,660 --> 00:03:17,350 20% extension service providers, 66 00:03:17,350 --> 00:03:22,350 and then we've got a bunch of non-profit, government agency, 67 00:03:22,500 --> 00:03:25,373 educators, researchers, and others. 68 00:03:26,330 --> 00:03:30,470 Well, thank you so much for joining us today. 69 00:03:30,470 --> 00:03:32,720 And right now what I'm gonna do is 70 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:34,830 turn it over to Claudia first 71 00:03:34,830 --> 00:03:37,590 and then Deb to share some things on their mind, 72 00:03:37,590 --> 00:03:40,120 and then we'll open it up to everyone. 73 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:42,230 - Great, thanks Lisa. 74 00:03:42,230 --> 00:03:45,070 So before I start, I just wanted to mention 75 00:03:45,070 --> 00:03:47,700 for everyone here who is from Pennsylvania, 76 00:03:47,700 --> 00:03:50,800 there were just news that showed up about an hour ago, 77 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:52,950 or now two hours. 78 00:03:52,950 --> 00:03:56,510 So our administration is lifting the mitigation orders. 79 00:03:56,510 --> 00:03:58,760 So there were capacity restrictions on bars, 80 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:00,620 restaurants, and other businesses, 81 00:04:00,620 --> 00:04:02,790 and indoor and outdoor event gathering limits. 82 00:04:02,790 --> 00:04:05,143 It will go away on May 31st, 83 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:08,740 but the current order requiring Pennsylvanians 84 00:04:08,740 --> 00:04:10,210 to wear a mask is still on. 85 00:04:10,210 --> 00:04:13,170 So everyone still has to do that outside as well 86 00:04:13,170 --> 00:04:17,630 and then that will be lifted when 70% of Pennsylvanians 87 00:04:17,630 --> 00:04:20,210 age 18 and older are fully vaccinated. 88 00:04:20,210 --> 00:04:24,963 Very interested to see when this is going to happen. 89 00:04:26,060 --> 00:04:28,900 So as Lisa mentioned, I'm from Penn State Extension. 90 00:04:28,900 --> 00:04:31,240 We also have a agritourism website 91 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:35,680 with a lot of other resources that Christie will probably 92 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,713 post in the chat as well if you wanna check this one out. 93 00:04:39,730 --> 00:04:44,250 I am so happy that Deb could join us today. 94 00:04:44,250 --> 00:04:47,370 We interviewed Deb for an article on agritourism 95 00:04:47,370 --> 00:04:49,370 and COVID in Pennsylvania last year. 96 00:04:49,370 --> 00:04:52,390 You can also check that out on our website 97 00:04:52,390 --> 00:04:54,270 and I'm really looking forward to learn more 98 00:04:54,270 --> 00:04:56,750 about what's happening this year. 99 00:04:56,750 --> 00:04:59,570 That's why we invited Deb to share her experience. 100 00:04:59,570 --> 00:05:02,860 And I hope that all of you will also share your experience 101 00:05:02,860 --> 00:05:05,910 and ask us any questions you might have. 102 00:05:05,910 --> 00:05:08,600 So without any further ado, Deb please go ahead 103 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:12,150 and tell us about your business and how you're handling 104 00:05:12,150 --> 00:05:15,090 all the COVID precautions this year, thanks. 105 00:05:15,090 --> 00:05:17,750 - Absolutely, no, thank you very, very much. 106 00:05:17,750 --> 00:05:21,000 So I'm gonna go ahead and share my screen really quickly 107 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:25,340 so everyone can see what we've got going on on our property. 108 00:05:25,340 --> 00:05:27,290 So we are Valley Fruits and Veggies. 109 00:05:27,290 --> 00:05:28,320 My name is Deb Colitus. 110 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:32,090 My husband, Chris and I, we have been active in agriculture 111 00:05:32,090 --> 00:05:34,130 for our 20 years as marriage. 112 00:05:34,130 --> 00:05:37,050 Ironically, I came from a nautical family in New Jersey, 113 00:05:37,050 --> 00:05:39,270 and so I don't know how I became so landlocked 114 00:05:39,270 --> 00:05:40,330 but it's a blessing 115 00:05:40,330 --> 00:05:42,040 and very excited to be a part of it. 116 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:45,160 So we started with our 10 acre property, 117 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,980 we were blessed to be able to expand it 25 acres. 118 00:05:47,980 --> 00:05:50,250 So not only in the spring time do we do 119 00:05:50,250 --> 00:05:51,280 the picking on strawberries, 120 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:53,940 but now in the fall we have corn maze, and pumpkins, 121 00:05:53,940 --> 00:05:55,560 and other things going on. 122 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:59,327 So last year the adventure of it all. 123 00:05:59,327 --> 00:06:01,880 We had no idea on what we were heading into. 124 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:03,360 You know, talk about blind, 125 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:06,910 leading the blind of what was happening and what we did, 126 00:06:06,910 --> 00:06:08,570 which is the same thing we did last year 127 00:06:08,570 --> 00:06:11,370 is we went on Facebook and we just started 128 00:06:11,370 --> 00:06:14,790 following farms from Florida all the way up to Maine, 129 00:06:14,790 --> 00:06:18,350 as much as we possibly could to kinda catch the vibe 130 00:06:18,350 --> 00:06:21,460 of what was happening prior to us here in Pennsylvania. 131 00:06:21,460 --> 00:06:23,700 And let me tell you, if you have not done that 132 00:06:23,700 --> 00:06:26,340 in any kind of way, just to kind of see whether it's South 133 00:06:26,340 --> 00:06:30,300 to North or West to East, I so highly recommend it. 134 00:06:30,300 --> 00:06:33,150 Because it is amazing what you learn and see 135 00:06:33,150 --> 00:06:35,470 of what's different, the ideas that you get, 136 00:06:35,470 --> 00:06:37,220 the comradery that you can have, 137 00:06:37,220 --> 00:06:40,210 and just supporting other farmers or the shout out. 138 00:06:40,210 --> 00:06:42,490 They ended up following us as well as they realized, 139 00:06:42,490 --> 00:06:44,240 wait a minute we've got some, Pennsylvanians follow us 140 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:46,350 in North Carolina, what's going on? 141 00:06:46,350 --> 00:06:48,930 And what we found last year is that 142 00:06:48,930 --> 00:06:52,380 we were absolutely phenomenally, wonderfully 143 00:06:52,380 --> 00:06:54,650 overwhelmed by the response. 144 00:06:54,650 --> 00:06:57,510 People wanted to be outside, they wanted to be 145 00:06:57,510 --> 00:07:00,400 in a situation that they were familiar with. 146 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:02,350 As you can see at the top of our website, 147 00:07:02,350 --> 00:07:04,070 we immediately made sure 148 00:07:04,070 --> 00:07:08,170 that we were communicating first with our customer base. 149 00:07:08,170 --> 00:07:11,680 And if you do not have the investment made 150 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:15,340 in Facebook, in a website, an email list, 151 00:07:15,340 --> 00:07:19,336 I strongly suggest that you get with an expert 152 00:07:19,336 --> 00:07:21,620 if you do not feel that you are that expert 153 00:07:21,620 --> 00:07:22,720 then start figuring out, 154 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:25,610 because once you can control your audience 155 00:07:25,610 --> 00:07:29,240 and I don't mean mind control, cause wouldn't that be great? 156 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:30,990 Once you can control in a way 157 00:07:30,990 --> 00:07:33,890 where you are getting the message out first, 158 00:07:33,890 --> 00:07:36,520 it is amazing what can happen. 159 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:39,650 So like up here and we're gonna be updating this 160 00:07:39,650 --> 00:07:41,170 because obviously things are changing 161 00:07:41,170 --> 00:07:43,690 on a moment to moment basis on all of our states 162 00:07:43,690 --> 00:07:46,800 of what are COVID and what's going on. 163 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,080 The other thing that we did, and here's a tip for you, 164 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:54,750 is immediately, we invest in a photographer every year 165 00:07:54,750 --> 00:07:56,900 and that does amazing things, 166 00:07:56,900 --> 00:08:00,050 because you're not just telling people a message 167 00:08:00,050 --> 00:08:01,160 you're showing them. 168 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:04,080 Because, for example, here you can see a wonderful family, 169 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:05,480 they're out there 170 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:06,960 but then as you're scrolling, 171 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:08,250 you know, what's going on 172 00:08:08,250 --> 00:08:11,240 and wherever can I find it here on the first page? 173 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:12,200 Nope, we moved it. 174 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:14,410 Let's go over to spring strawberries. 175 00:08:14,410 --> 00:08:16,430 You can see this family has their masks 176 00:08:16,430 --> 00:08:18,120 and they took them down for the photo, 177 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,260 but that tells a story in and of itself 178 00:08:21,260 --> 00:08:23,610 that we took the policy 179 00:08:23,610 --> 00:08:27,460 and procedure last year that we were not going to be 180 00:08:27,460 --> 00:08:30,260 in a mask enforcement situation. 181 00:08:30,260 --> 00:08:31,420 Rather we were going to be 182 00:08:31,420 --> 00:08:34,900 in an empowerment to make the right decision community. 183 00:08:34,900 --> 00:08:38,470 So while we had the signs up encouraging social distancing, 184 00:08:38,470 --> 00:08:40,620 we definitely around the register area, 185 00:08:40,620 --> 00:08:42,870 you know, had the marks on the floor 186 00:08:42,870 --> 00:08:45,200 and our employees were always masked. 187 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:49,770 We made sure that the individuals were able to take control. 188 00:08:49,770 --> 00:08:52,970 So we had families that whether they decided, 189 00:08:52,970 --> 00:08:54,670 wow, we're outside we feel safe 190 00:08:54,670 --> 00:08:57,800 or they did not feel that masks were appropriate. 191 00:08:57,800 --> 00:08:59,930 There was enough space that everyone 192 00:08:59,930 --> 00:09:01,660 around them could adjust themselves 193 00:09:01,660 --> 00:09:03,750 and they could then be respectful as well. 194 00:09:03,750 --> 00:09:06,270 And, you know, of an entire season last year, 195 00:09:06,270 --> 00:09:08,530 we had one complaint from a gentlemen 196 00:09:08,530 --> 00:09:11,520 but all it took was a conversation of, hey, look around you. 197 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:13,710 If you can't social distance in 35 acres 198 00:09:13,710 --> 00:09:16,210 I don't know, you know, what to say at the moment. 199 00:09:17,050 --> 00:09:20,530 And we had some people asking ahead of time on Facebook, 200 00:09:20,530 --> 00:09:21,460 what are your policies? 201 00:09:21,460 --> 00:09:22,293 What are these? 202 00:09:22,293 --> 00:09:24,701 And we were just very honest 203 00:09:24,701 --> 00:09:27,640 in that we came forth saying we want everyone 204 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:29,550 to have the best experience possible. 205 00:09:29,550 --> 00:09:32,710 And for that to happen that means that, you know, 206 00:09:32,710 --> 00:09:35,820 we're gonna provide every single safety measure we can, 207 00:09:35,820 --> 00:09:38,110 but then ultimately it is your choice 208 00:09:38,110 --> 00:09:42,300 on whether those safety measures match your comfort level. 209 00:09:42,300 --> 00:09:45,820 And, you know, as a, you know farm of what we have going on 210 00:09:45,820 --> 00:09:47,800 and, you know, well, 211 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:50,510 you can get very much caught up into the idea 212 00:09:50,510 --> 00:09:53,873 that you wanna make everyone happy at all times, right? 213 00:09:53,873 --> 00:09:55,810 Because the questions 214 00:09:55,810 --> 00:09:58,540 and the requests can sometimes get a little insane. 215 00:09:58,540 --> 00:10:00,260 Whether it's the mom asking 216 00:10:00,260 --> 00:10:02,070 if I have extra baby wipes for her 217 00:10:02,070 --> 00:10:03,410 to wipe her kid's hands off. 218 00:10:03,410 --> 00:10:04,530 I'm like, no, sorry. 219 00:10:04,530 --> 00:10:05,410 There's you know, that, 220 00:10:05,410 --> 00:10:07,970 or is a port-a-potty really the only option here? 221 00:10:07,970 --> 00:10:10,570 Yeah, no, porta-potty's really the only option. 222 00:10:10,570 --> 00:10:15,280 We took COVID as the same type of opportunity 223 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:18,970 to just be honest with our customers of what was going on. 224 00:10:18,970 --> 00:10:21,300 And it was an interesting education process. 225 00:10:21,300 --> 00:10:22,840 You know, we did quite a bit of research 226 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:25,220 because we have a play area for the kids, 227 00:10:25,220 --> 00:10:26,860 especially in the fall time. 228 00:10:26,860 --> 00:10:29,280 Bins of corn they're playing in. 229 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:31,150 You know, slides that they can go down 230 00:10:31,150 --> 00:10:32,550 off of some hay bales. 231 00:10:32,550 --> 00:10:33,960 And what does that mean? 232 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:36,850 Lots of little fingers and hands touching things. 233 00:10:36,850 --> 00:10:39,270 But as you know, we dug into the research 234 00:10:39,270 --> 00:10:42,490 that was coming out thankfully at that time last year. 235 00:10:42,490 --> 00:10:45,460 COVID has a very quick half-life under sunshine. 236 00:10:45,460 --> 00:10:48,740 So pretty much the equivalent of sunshine outside 237 00:10:48,740 --> 00:10:50,050 was every 15 minutes 238 00:10:50,050 --> 00:10:52,530 like us going around with Lysol spraying everything. 239 00:10:52,530 --> 00:10:55,140 And so when we, you know, we had the hand sanitizers, 240 00:10:55,140 --> 00:10:56,730 we had the hand washing stations, 241 00:10:56,730 --> 00:10:59,920 but we were also very, you know, upfront with parents 242 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:01,650 or people who seem nervous saying, well, 243 00:11:01,650 --> 00:11:03,830 hey, you may not wanna play this year. 244 00:11:03,830 --> 00:11:07,137 And that's an okay, however, this is what we know about, 245 00:11:07,137 --> 00:11:10,690 you know, UV light and sunshine and everything like that. 246 00:11:10,690 --> 00:11:13,390 So, and in the end, you know, the Facebook responses 247 00:11:13,390 --> 00:11:17,620 and the reviews really wonderfully also complimented 248 00:11:17,620 --> 00:11:18,680 what we went on. 249 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:21,320 Because the flip side of it is you have 250 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:23,240 to train your staff. 251 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:25,770 Because if your staff doesn't know 252 00:11:25,770 --> 00:11:27,470 what you are doing out there 253 00:11:27,470 --> 00:11:30,170 and putting out the word to people coming in 254 00:11:30,170 --> 00:11:33,480 and we definitely invested in extra welcomers. 255 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:34,360 And that's something 256 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:36,680 that we're gonna continue this year as well. 257 00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:39,080 So that as people are coming out of the parking lot 258 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:41,610 we have someone right there, kind of like, you know, 259 00:11:41,610 --> 00:11:43,855 the Lucy information booth from the Peanuts 260 00:11:43,855 --> 00:11:46,810 willing to give anybody and everybody, you know, 261 00:11:46,810 --> 00:11:50,710 whatever information they need to have a successful time 262 00:11:50,710 --> 00:11:53,940 on the farm with us at that moment of time. 263 00:11:53,940 --> 00:11:54,773 Because we found 264 00:11:54,773 --> 00:11:57,330 if we can answer those questions immediately 265 00:11:57,330 --> 00:12:00,320 you mitigate the wandering individual 266 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:03,070 that's like searching for the person to, you know, ask. 267 00:12:03,070 --> 00:12:04,380 And then they asked the wrong person 268 00:12:04,380 --> 00:12:06,330 and then they're sent about with stuff. 269 00:12:07,170 --> 00:12:09,780 Real quickly, and then I can't wait to get in discussions 270 00:12:09,780 --> 00:12:13,050 and take questions, is we have a food trailer onsite. 271 00:12:13,050 --> 00:12:14,870 We serve milkshakes. 272 00:12:14,870 --> 00:12:17,400 We have awesome strawberry shortcake, 273 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:20,310 which means we had department of agriculture come in 274 00:12:20,310 --> 00:12:21,820 for all of our inspections, 275 00:12:21,820 --> 00:12:25,290 the dairy inspections, the well inspections. 276 00:12:25,290 --> 00:12:28,530 And we made sure that all the inspections we pass 277 00:12:28,530 --> 00:12:31,700 were plastered all over the place like wallpaper. 278 00:12:31,700 --> 00:12:33,890 Because again, it's an reinforcement 279 00:12:33,890 --> 00:12:35,110 that we're doing our job, 280 00:12:35,110 --> 00:12:37,180 which is stuff you do in a matter COVID or not, 281 00:12:37,180 --> 00:12:38,580 but people don't realize it, 282 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:41,320 that if you're going into a restaurant 283 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:43,110 and they don't have the displayed on the wall 284 00:12:43,110 --> 00:12:44,650 that they're ServSafe certified 285 00:12:44,650 --> 00:12:47,630 and they're approved, you got some issues. 286 00:12:47,630 --> 00:12:50,370 So we just made sure above and beyond 287 00:12:50,370 --> 00:12:51,820 that we had everything out. 288 00:12:51,820 --> 00:12:53,850 So again, when people had questions 289 00:12:53,850 --> 00:12:55,760 or we saw a little bit of nervousness 290 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,318 we were able to supply that. 291 00:12:58,318 --> 00:13:00,610 But in the end, you know, 292 00:13:00,610 --> 00:13:04,510 my background is actually education, well, small business, 293 00:13:04,510 --> 00:13:07,610 and then I was an educator prior to having kiddos 294 00:13:07,610 --> 00:13:09,130 and being involved in our business. 295 00:13:09,130 --> 00:13:11,700 And I have a real heart for, you know, 296 00:13:11,700 --> 00:13:14,230 the kids that come out to our properties. 297 00:13:14,230 --> 00:13:18,185 Because we know the world that they live in is not 298 00:13:18,185 --> 00:13:20,980 the agricultural world that we love 299 00:13:20,980 --> 00:13:22,500 and have so much passion about. 300 00:13:22,500 --> 00:13:25,560 So when I see a family exploring or the kids eating 301 00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:27,490 the berries from the field and they're just covered, 302 00:13:27,490 --> 00:13:28,510 we love that. 303 00:13:28,510 --> 00:13:31,220 Because that means they're creating instant memories 304 00:13:31,220 --> 00:13:33,330 that's gonna bring them back again and again, 305 00:13:33,330 --> 00:13:34,750 you know, year after year. 306 00:13:34,750 --> 00:13:37,190 And so, you know, as part of this experience 307 00:13:37,190 --> 00:13:38,500 we wanted to make sure 308 00:13:38,500 --> 00:13:41,080 that the families could feel comfortable 309 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:43,870 and that this was not a memory that was gonna have 310 00:13:43,870 --> 00:13:44,703 to be skipped. 311 00:13:44,703 --> 00:13:47,870 Because can you imagine kids had to skip Santa Claus? 312 00:13:47,870 --> 00:13:49,510 So let's not skip the strawberries. 313 00:13:49,510 --> 00:13:50,880 Let's not skip other things. 314 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:53,390 Let's make sure that we have what is needed 315 00:13:53,390 --> 00:13:55,330 and just be very visible 316 00:13:55,330 --> 00:13:57,400 in our practices of what's going on. 317 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:00,990 So lastly, you know, comparing last year to this year, 318 00:14:00,990 --> 00:14:03,590 you know, minute by minute, who knows, you know, 319 00:14:03,590 --> 00:14:07,640 what the government and our leadership is going to provide. 320 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:12,030 What we seek to do is be an example of the transition 321 00:14:12,030 --> 00:14:13,760 because already here in Pennsylvania 322 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:15,830 they said unless you're in a crowd 323 00:14:15,830 --> 00:14:17,860 you do not need to wear your mask outside. 324 00:14:17,860 --> 00:14:20,920 So we are going to be starting right off the bat 325 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,570 letting our employees know that, hey, 326 00:14:23,570 --> 00:14:26,147 if you're not in a crowded space that is up to you 327 00:14:26,147 --> 00:14:28,470 and your comfort level and we will support that. 328 00:14:28,470 --> 00:14:31,460 And that's what we're gonna be putting out there as well to, 329 00:14:31,460 --> 00:14:34,060 you know, our following saying, hey, 330 00:14:34,060 --> 00:14:36,250 Valley Fruits and Veggies, you've been with us. 331 00:14:36,250 --> 00:14:37,530 We have the reputation. 332 00:14:37,530 --> 00:14:39,060 You know how we handle things. 333 00:14:39,060 --> 00:14:42,370 We welcome you out within your comfort level. 334 00:14:42,370 --> 00:14:45,380 And then we'll adjust because you know what, if we get, 335 00:14:45,380 --> 00:14:48,870 you know, some backlash on that, that people want masks, 336 00:14:48,870 --> 00:14:51,930 maybe we'll have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays mask days. 337 00:14:51,930 --> 00:14:53,930 Thursday, Fridays are not, I don't know. 338 00:14:53,930 --> 00:14:56,270 It's how do you go along with the comfort level 339 00:14:56,270 --> 00:14:59,560 to be encouraging people when we're outside there has been 340 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:01,410 and please anyone here speak up, 341 00:15:01,410 --> 00:15:03,200 in this entire adventure of COVID 342 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:05,920 there has not been one outdoor event 343 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:07,430 that has ever been publicized 344 00:15:07,430 --> 00:15:09,060 that has been a spreader event. 345 00:15:09,060 --> 00:15:12,140 So we feel because of that history and what we have 346 00:15:12,140 --> 00:15:13,930 that we can confidently go forward 347 00:15:13,930 --> 00:15:17,090 and make these decisions ourselves with a positive nature. 348 00:15:17,090 --> 00:15:18,560 So it's a pleasure to be here. 349 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:23,390 So Lisa and Claudia, anything else that I'm not covering 350 00:15:23,390 --> 00:15:24,850 that you had in mind that, you know, 351 00:15:24,850 --> 00:15:26,630 we've been speaking of at all? 352 00:15:26,630 --> 00:15:29,610 - We haven't gotten any questions in the chat. 353 00:15:29,610 --> 00:15:32,840 And I just wanna invite everyone that is on 354 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:34,880 if you would like to talk, 355 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:37,130 just go to the reactions button 356 00:15:38,299 --> 00:15:40,040 on the lower level of your screen, 357 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:42,210 you now know how those things are going 358 00:15:42,210 --> 00:15:43,550 and just raise your hand. 359 00:15:43,550 --> 00:15:46,237 And then you check and just come up and ask your question. 360 00:15:46,237 --> 00:15:47,790 If you have other questions 361 00:15:47,790 --> 00:15:51,730 you can also enter them in the chat box. 362 00:15:51,730 --> 00:15:55,010 So you're more than welcome to do that. 363 00:15:55,010 --> 00:15:57,100 One of the things I really liked 364 00:15:57,100 --> 00:15:58,990 what Deb just talked about is that 365 00:15:58,990 --> 00:16:02,920 you have the safety measures in place 366 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:06,930 that match your comfort level, right? 367 00:16:06,930 --> 00:16:10,950 And as you know, when you register it for this webinar 368 00:16:10,950 --> 00:16:13,483 you were invited to ask some questions. 369 00:16:14,410 --> 00:16:16,610 So I'm just gonna pull up 370 00:16:17,530 --> 00:16:21,510 some of the questions that were asked. 371 00:16:21,510 --> 00:16:24,930 And as I just mentioned, and as Deb mentioned, 372 00:16:24,930 --> 00:16:28,990 everything is changing at a rapid pace in Pennsylvania 373 00:16:28,990 --> 00:16:30,090 and probably in Vermont, too. 374 00:16:30,090 --> 00:16:33,270 We have a lot of producers today from Vermont 375 00:16:33,270 --> 00:16:36,260 and New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 376 00:16:36,260 --> 00:16:38,650 So one person was asking what precautions 377 00:16:38,650 --> 00:16:42,790 can be required of pick your own customers, right? 378 00:16:42,790 --> 00:16:44,910 So whatever you're comfortable with, 379 00:16:44,910 --> 00:16:47,050 but we actually consulted 380 00:16:47,050 --> 00:16:49,820 with our staff attorney from Penn State Law. 381 00:16:49,820 --> 00:16:51,680 And he said, as a matter of law 382 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:53,790 anything can be required of customers 383 00:16:53,790 --> 00:16:58,400 since you're inviting them on your private property. 384 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:01,450 There are a lot of questions you could ask your customers. 385 00:17:01,450 --> 00:17:05,490 And again, it really goes down to your comfort level, right? 386 00:17:05,490 --> 00:17:07,810 There are a lot of questions you can ask your customers 387 00:17:07,810 --> 00:17:10,370 that would not be an ADA violation. 388 00:17:10,370 --> 00:17:13,080 So what I wanted to know from you now, 389 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,040 because we have a lot of people from different states, 390 00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:18,440 what is your experience? 391 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:20,210 So Debbie shared her experience. 392 00:17:20,210 --> 00:17:22,873 What do you think is, or what is yours? 393 00:17:24,130 --> 00:17:25,970 - So we're launching another poll 394 00:17:25,970 --> 00:17:29,190 to see what you're planning. 395 00:17:29,190 --> 00:17:30,460 Do you see the poll? 396 00:17:30,460 --> 00:17:31,420 Okay. 397 00:17:31,420 --> 00:17:36,420 What safety practices are you considering using this season? 398 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:39,140 Check all that apply. 399 00:17:39,140 --> 00:17:44,140 And while where, you know, while you're doing that 400 00:17:44,250 --> 00:17:46,150 I do wanna mention that 401 00:17:46,150 --> 00:17:51,060 different states have very different regulations. 402 00:17:51,060 --> 00:17:53,980 And I think while all of them are loosening up, 403 00:17:53,980 --> 00:17:55,830 they're loosening up at different rates. 404 00:17:55,830 --> 00:17:59,540 And, you know, even beyond what your state regulations are, 405 00:17:59,540 --> 00:18:02,540 your town may also have regulations 406 00:18:02,540 --> 00:18:06,660 and of course it's private property so, you know, 407 00:18:06,660 --> 00:18:09,240 you can choose your own regulations. 408 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:10,520 But we're curious to see 409 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:13,350 what different folks are thinking about. 410 00:18:13,350 --> 00:18:16,850 So take just another moment to fill out this poll 411 00:18:16,850 --> 00:18:18,730 and then we'll share the results with you. 412 00:18:18,730 --> 00:18:21,950 And also, you know, as Claudia mentioned 413 00:18:21,950 --> 00:18:24,490 feel free to type into chat or wave your hand 414 00:18:24,490 --> 00:18:27,990 and, you know, we'll start also pulling out more questions 415 00:18:27,990 --> 00:18:29,480 from the registration list. 416 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,970 I'm gonna end the polling now and share the results. 417 00:18:32,970 --> 00:18:34,380 So it looks like hand washing 418 00:18:34,380 --> 00:18:37,640 and hand sanitizing stations are big 419 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:41,480 and that's something that I'm glad that came up, 420 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:45,660 because we had a handful of farms in Vermont 421 00:18:45,660 --> 00:18:50,180 that already had hand washing stations in place. 422 00:18:50,180 --> 00:18:54,140 Cedar Circle Farm comes to mind, but it was the exception. 423 00:18:54,140 --> 00:18:57,460 It was the unusual farm that had a hand washing station 424 00:18:57,460 --> 00:19:00,290 or hand sanitizing station and signage 425 00:19:00,290 --> 00:19:03,190 and, you know, a whole lot of emphasis on do this 426 00:19:03,190 --> 00:19:05,950 before you go to the pick your old fields. 427 00:19:05,950 --> 00:19:07,840 COVID has totally changed that. 428 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:10,040 I mean, before it was a best practice, 429 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:13,160 now it's a required practice moving forward, 430 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:16,090 you know, required in terms of not really required 431 00:19:16,090 --> 00:19:18,100 but it should be done. 432 00:19:18,100 --> 00:19:21,050 And I think moving forward it's not, 433 00:19:21,050 --> 00:19:23,480 even when COVID is you know, 434 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:25,040 hopefully we're all looking forward 435 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:26,560 to COVID being a memory. 436 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:29,210 You know, way back when remember those crazy days 437 00:19:29,210 --> 00:19:30,760 when we were all wearing masks. 438 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,550 We're still gonna be washing our hands 439 00:19:33,550 --> 00:19:34,980 before we pick our berries 440 00:19:34,980 --> 00:19:37,530 and you know, every time we're about to touch food. 441 00:19:37,530 --> 00:19:39,473 So that's great to see. 442 00:19:39,473 --> 00:19:40,306 (indistinct) 443 00:19:40,306 --> 00:19:42,450 - I'm sorry to interrupt, but that's crazy to me 444 00:19:42,450 --> 00:19:47,450 to think that the farms were not having that practice. 445 00:19:47,530 --> 00:19:48,978 - You've had a hand washing stations 446 00:19:48,978 --> 00:19:50,260 and signage for a while now. 447 00:19:50,260 --> 00:19:51,093 - Yeah, that. 448 00:19:51,093 --> 00:19:54,040 Well, and again, you know, shout out to Penn state 449 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:55,760 and you know, all the education 450 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:58,000 and things like that, that go along with it, 451 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,300 plus we do have restaurant experience as well, 452 00:20:00,300 --> 00:20:02,420 so that kind of is a crossover with it. 453 00:20:02,420 --> 00:20:06,410 But always, you know, especially making sure 454 00:20:06,410 --> 00:20:09,200 that there's a rhythm and a placement of things 455 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:11,560 to encourage that behavior of what's going on. 456 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:13,390 So that's fascinating that that's something, 457 00:20:13,390 --> 00:20:14,690 but that's a good thing. 458 00:20:14,690 --> 00:20:15,730 Like I said to a friend today, 459 00:20:15,730 --> 00:20:18,040 I said if only we could all keep washing our hands 460 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:19,970 and Target would keep their bathroom clean, 461 00:20:19,970 --> 00:20:21,210 we'd be all healthier. 462 00:20:21,210 --> 00:20:24,400 So it's how do we keep those good practices going? 463 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:26,330 So, no, thanks for sharing that. 464 00:20:26,330 --> 00:20:27,947 - Yeah, no, that's yeah. 465 00:20:27,947 --> 00:20:30,490 I mean, certainly there were farms in Vermont doing it, 466 00:20:30,490 --> 00:20:32,560 I would say the ones that paid attention. 467 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:34,660 I mean, there were a number that paid attention, 468 00:20:34,660 --> 00:20:37,300 especially those that might've had a petting area 469 00:20:37,300 --> 00:20:41,980 or a eating area so you're moving from one place to another. 470 00:20:41,980 --> 00:20:43,700 You know, some of the operations 471 00:20:43,700 --> 00:20:45,370 that were just much more focused on 472 00:20:45,370 --> 00:20:48,470 you come and you pick weren't really set up. 473 00:20:48,470 --> 00:20:51,070 I mean, hand washing stations with running water 474 00:20:51,070 --> 00:20:54,320 sometimes just isn't really practical in the field 475 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:56,500 that hand sanitizer stations. 476 00:20:56,500 --> 00:20:58,490 You know, people could be doing that 477 00:20:58,490 --> 00:21:00,010 but you gotta keep refilling 478 00:21:00,010 --> 00:21:02,260 and it just always wasn't happening. 479 00:21:02,260 --> 00:21:05,510 And I think we're gonna see it happening a lot more now. 480 00:21:05,510 --> 00:21:07,230 - Something interesting that happened to us 481 00:21:07,230 --> 00:21:08,580 during the fall season 482 00:21:08,580 --> 00:21:11,430 is because of the increase of hand needs. 483 00:21:11,430 --> 00:21:14,820 if you have not ordered your hand washing stations yet 484 00:21:14,820 --> 00:21:17,360 from whatever portal that, you know, 485 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:18,650 type company you do, 486 00:21:18,650 --> 00:21:20,540 do that now hopefully in a week. 487 00:21:20,540 --> 00:21:23,110 The clean supply chain issues and everything else like that, 488 00:21:23,110 --> 00:21:25,410 what showed up for us in the fall 489 00:21:25,410 --> 00:21:27,400 was a giant barrel that they had put 490 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:29,690 like this drip faucet on 491 00:21:29,690 --> 00:21:32,660 and a makeshift catch basin because that, you know 492 00:21:32,660 --> 00:21:34,640 they've run out of hand washing stations. 493 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:37,920 So definitely with special needs, you know, 494 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:39,790 make your assessment clear. 495 00:21:39,790 --> 00:21:42,200 And then we actually had to call them back to make sure 496 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,210 that we have the appropriate ADA hand-washing station 497 00:21:45,210 --> 00:21:47,080 to go with the ADA, you know, 498 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:49,700 potty that we had along the way. 499 00:21:49,700 --> 00:21:52,590 So don't hesitate to ask us extra questions 500 00:21:52,590 --> 00:21:54,980 when you're getting those quotes on those important things 501 00:21:54,980 --> 00:21:56,860 because it can get crazy. 502 00:21:56,860 --> 00:21:57,693 - Yeah. 503 00:21:57,693 --> 00:22:00,090 And I'm gonna say these days, hand washing stations 504 00:22:00,090 --> 00:22:03,380 you know, having a foot pedal is really important, 505 00:22:03,380 --> 00:22:04,400 you don't. 506 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:08,849 And there are some low cost do it yourself options 507 00:22:08,849 --> 00:22:10,570 for hand washing stations. 508 00:22:10,570 --> 00:22:13,260 And we actually have some links for that on the website 509 00:22:13,260 --> 00:22:15,840 as well as some support for the farms. 510 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:16,860 Not just in Vermont, 511 00:22:16,860 --> 00:22:19,290 but all around the Northeast who are interested 512 00:22:19,290 --> 00:22:22,900 in having portable do it yourself hand washing stations 513 00:22:22,900 --> 00:22:24,120 with foot levers. 514 00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:25,840 If that's something you're interested in 515 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:28,790 and would like some help with, reach out to us 516 00:22:28,790 --> 00:22:30,790 because that's something we can help with. 517 00:22:30,790 --> 00:22:33,280 I wanna just see there's some stuff coming up in chat 518 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:36,540 but I'm just gonna mention. 519 00:22:36,540 --> 00:22:40,160 It's good to also see social distancing between pods, 520 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:42,960 advanced registrations, masks, 521 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:45,950 and no eating while picking, 522 00:22:45,950 --> 00:22:48,690 as well as assigned spots or rows for pods 523 00:22:48,690 --> 00:22:50,760 are all different options 524 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:54,660 that different people are considering. 525 00:22:54,660 --> 00:22:56,800 So, and there's some other and in chat. 526 00:22:56,800 --> 00:23:00,000 So why don't I, you know, turn it over 527 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:01,350 to Claudia or others 528 00:23:01,350 --> 00:23:03,430 - Okay - The chat. 529 00:23:03,430 --> 00:23:06,380 - So chat comments are coming in. 530 00:23:06,380 --> 00:23:08,450 If you don't wanna, you're more than welcome 531 00:23:08,450 --> 00:23:09,460 to talk as well. 532 00:23:09,460 --> 00:23:12,050 As I mentioned again, it's a zoom cafe. 533 00:23:12,050 --> 00:23:14,360 If you don't want to now you have to listen to me 534 00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:17,350 with my German accent reading your questions 535 00:23:17,350 --> 00:23:18,330 and your answers. 536 00:23:18,330 --> 00:23:22,140 So Pamela Salisbury is saying, Massachusetts here, 537 00:23:22,140 --> 00:23:25,107 we had a wonderful reception from our customers. 538 00:23:25,107 --> 00:23:26,880 Our you pick sunflowers 539 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:29,680 and hayrides increased by at least 50%. 540 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:31,870 That's amazing, thanks for sharing. 541 00:23:31,870 --> 00:23:34,830 Our last day of hayrides was December 24th. 542 00:23:34,830 --> 00:23:38,900 We had to send sanitizer at our stand and on the right. 543 00:23:38,900 --> 00:23:40,830 We had one person complained as well, 544 00:23:40,830 --> 00:23:43,970 but one person out of over 1,000 is really not bad. 545 00:23:43,970 --> 00:23:45,100 I agree. 546 00:23:45,100 --> 00:23:48,160 Whether evasions for huge and big capital letters 547 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:51,580 and we will adopt utilizing reservations again. 548 00:23:51,580 --> 00:23:53,300 Now talking about reservations, 549 00:23:53,300 --> 00:23:55,470 there was a question coming in. 550 00:23:55,470 --> 00:23:57,610 Olivia from Andover Acres is asking, 551 00:23:57,610 --> 00:23:59,940 what software online rev reservations 552 00:23:59,940 --> 00:24:02,350 and payment tools do you recommend? 553 00:24:02,350 --> 00:24:04,410 We would like to require appointments 554 00:24:04,410 --> 00:24:06,490 to manage visitation numbers 555 00:24:06,490 --> 00:24:09,190 and maybe also have folks pay some in advance 556 00:24:09,190 --> 00:24:11,556 to reserve their spot. 557 00:24:11,556 --> 00:24:12,950 First, maybe Deb. 558 00:24:12,950 --> 00:24:14,890 Would you like to answer this question? 559 00:24:14,890 --> 00:24:16,750 - So my other life is 560 00:24:16,750 --> 00:24:19,260 I have a communication marketing company. 561 00:24:19,260 --> 00:24:21,480 So I have a full-time web designer. 562 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:22,730 Do all of those sorts of things. 563 00:24:22,730 --> 00:24:23,950 So happy to take this 564 00:24:23,950 --> 00:24:26,300 and if I can ever help anybody with that, please, 565 00:24:26,300 --> 00:24:27,280 you know, reach out to me through 566 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,090 the Valley Fruits and Veggies website and glad to connect. 567 00:24:30,090 --> 00:24:31,610 But the best thing to do is one, 568 00:24:31,610 --> 00:24:33,350 reach out to your current web designer 569 00:24:33,350 --> 00:24:35,800 because usually web designers have a favorite tool 570 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:37,600 that they like to do as a plugin. 571 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:41,960 A plugin is kind of, you know, just a free connection 572 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:44,470 to another program to make things work. 573 00:24:44,470 --> 00:24:47,720 Usually, when there is money being exchanged 574 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:49,980 you are gonna have a percentage fee 575 00:24:49,980 --> 00:24:52,170 or a subscription that you're gonna need to pay for, 576 00:24:52,170 --> 00:24:56,270 but let me tell you the office work that it saves 577 00:24:56,270 --> 00:24:58,030 is amazing. 578 00:24:58,030 --> 00:25:01,860 So we did not do reservations for picking per se, 579 00:25:01,860 --> 00:25:04,630 we do reservations for birthday parties and other things. 580 00:25:04,630 --> 00:25:08,500 So we use a combination of a Calendly, 581 00:25:08,500 --> 00:25:10,130 it's called, it's a booking. 582 00:25:10,130 --> 00:25:12,450 So you can, you know, list things out. 583 00:25:12,450 --> 00:25:17,450 Ticket Tailor is a another fantastic program that we used 584 00:25:17,510 --> 00:25:19,993 for our corn maze night reservations, 585 00:25:19,993 --> 00:25:24,140 and then Eventbrite, and usage of PayPal. 586 00:25:24,140 --> 00:25:27,630 So between those four tools, we put everything together 587 00:25:27,630 --> 00:25:29,950 the way that we wanted to make it happen 588 00:25:29,950 --> 00:25:31,810 and it worked really well. 589 00:25:31,810 --> 00:25:34,850 Specifically Ticket Tailor, oh my gosh. 590 00:25:34,850 --> 00:25:38,560 You download an app on your phone, so as people arrive 591 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:41,570 you scan, you know, their tickets off of their phones 592 00:25:41,570 --> 00:25:42,700 or if they printed it, 593 00:25:42,700 --> 00:25:45,150 so you have an exact record of who they are. 594 00:25:45,150 --> 00:25:47,140 You can collect all the information 595 00:25:47,140 --> 00:25:48,823 that you need to off of them. 596 00:25:49,910 --> 00:25:53,290 When comparing percentages, I always compare, you know, 597 00:25:53,290 --> 00:25:56,070 of what they're taking off the top of things. 598 00:25:56,070 --> 00:25:57,680 I always compare it to how many people 599 00:25:57,680 --> 00:25:59,470 would I have to hire to answer the phone 600 00:25:59,470 --> 00:26:01,150 and do this manually. 601 00:26:01,150 --> 00:26:04,010 So I don't mind giving that three to 7% depending 602 00:26:04,010 --> 00:26:07,780 upon what's being required, because it makes it so easy 603 00:26:07,780 --> 00:26:10,340 and it updates on the website magically. 604 00:26:10,340 --> 00:26:14,010 So again, Ticket Tailor, Calendly, Eventbrite, 605 00:26:14,010 --> 00:26:17,469 and then PayPal has worked very nice agnostically. 606 00:26:17,469 --> 00:26:19,400 We are getting more requests asking 607 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:21,450 if we'll take Venmo and stuff like that. 608 00:26:21,450 --> 00:26:22,730 It just depends upon your bank, 609 00:26:22,730 --> 00:26:24,880 and if your bank is friendly with those sorts of things. 610 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,200 So before you sign up for like all the Epay stuff, 611 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:29,363 check with your bank of what they deal with 612 00:26:29,363 --> 00:26:31,800 because not all banks are as high-tech 613 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:33,090 as we would like them to be. 614 00:26:33,090 --> 00:26:34,770 - That was great, thank you. 615 00:26:34,770 --> 00:26:35,603 - [Deb] You're welcome. 616 00:26:35,603 --> 00:26:37,520 - And there are more comments coming in. 617 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:39,900 I've seen a part of a farm appointment system 618 00:26:39,900 --> 00:26:41,517 on signupgenius.com. 619 00:26:42,590 --> 00:26:44,990 Kathleen is saying, "We haven't felt a need to go 620 00:26:44,990 --> 00:26:47,920 so high tech and enjoy the more personal feel of speaking 621 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:51,510 with folks, we have phone and Facebook or email." 622 00:26:51,510 --> 00:26:53,440 So that's still working, you know, 623 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:55,410 going we Facebook and email, 624 00:26:55,410 --> 00:26:58,610 still enables social distancing. 625 00:26:58,610 --> 00:27:02,450 And I know Brian, did you have a comment 626 00:27:02,450 --> 00:27:04,810 and maybe you should just quickly introduce yourself, 627 00:27:04,810 --> 00:27:07,340 because Brian is with Penn State Extension. 628 00:27:07,340 --> 00:27:09,770 - I was just typing it in the chat what I was gonna say, 629 00:27:09,770 --> 00:27:10,603 that's all right. 630 00:27:10,603 --> 00:27:14,085 Yeah, I'm with Penn State Extension working in the, 631 00:27:14,085 --> 00:27:16,210 we're working a lot with farmers markets 632 00:27:16,210 --> 00:27:17,480 and on-farm markets. 633 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:20,040 And some of the conversations we've been having is 634 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:21,790 the fact that say, even though, 635 00:27:21,790 --> 00:27:24,830 if everything ends and everything opens up, 636 00:27:24,830 --> 00:27:26,850 that we've had over a year of building a culture, 637 00:27:26,850 --> 00:27:27,683 of these procedures, 638 00:27:27,683 --> 00:27:29,120 like what Deb was talking about, 639 00:27:30,460 --> 00:27:33,040 that your customers to a certain extent might expect 640 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:34,410 that that stays in place 641 00:27:34,410 --> 00:27:36,480 because we've built that culture now. 642 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:39,520 And it's all about, it's like the TSA at the airport, right? 643 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:40,900 It's the theater of safety. 644 00:27:40,900 --> 00:27:41,980 You can have discussions about 645 00:27:41,980 --> 00:27:43,200 what's effective and what isn't, 646 00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:45,970 but when you have a customer's expectations 647 00:27:45,970 --> 00:27:47,150 that they expect to see that 648 00:27:47,150 --> 00:27:48,700 and feel a certain amount of nervousness, 649 00:27:48,700 --> 00:27:50,460 if they don't see it, they come to your business. 650 00:27:50,460 --> 00:27:52,840 So just something to think about. 651 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:56,460 - Brian, I think you're spot on because it's, 652 00:27:56,460 --> 00:27:58,290 we obviously as business owners need 653 00:27:58,290 --> 00:28:02,030 to have our best practices for what we know is safe 654 00:28:02,030 --> 00:28:03,640 and you know what we need to do 655 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:05,470 to make our operations profitable 656 00:28:05,470 --> 00:28:07,270 because let's be honest, we've got to, you know 657 00:28:07,270 --> 00:28:09,726 make a profit, but we do have to respond 658 00:28:09,726 --> 00:28:12,910 to a user experience that allows 659 00:28:12,910 --> 00:28:15,030 that experience to be successful. 660 00:28:15,030 --> 00:28:18,630 What we've tried to do is just emphasize the human 661 00:28:18,630 --> 00:28:19,560 you know, behind it. 662 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,660 I had shared with Liz and Claudia yesterday, 663 00:28:22,660 --> 00:28:25,040 the most moving thank you note I got last year 664 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:27,920 was from a mom of an autistic boy that we were 665 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:30,710 the first place that she was able to bring him at that time 666 00:28:30,710 --> 00:28:32,330 because of mask policies, 667 00:28:32,330 --> 00:28:34,290 where he could not need the mask 668 00:28:34,290 --> 00:28:37,350 because obviously with, you know, he has a disability. 669 00:28:37,350 --> 00:28:39,920 He had, you know, a specific need at that time 670 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:41,470 and we were able to adjust. 671 00:28:41,470 --> 00:28:43,100 And, you know, vice versa, 672 00:28:43,100 --> 00:28:45,430 those that are immunocompromised. 673 00:28:45,430 --> 00:28:46,720 How do you serve them? 674 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:48,800 And what was going on? 675 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:51,130 You know, we had been prepared this year 676 00:28:51,130 --> 00:28:54,170 that if it was still pandemic, you know, maximum 677 00:28:54,170 --> 00:28:55,540 to head into delivery. 678 00:28:55,540 --> 00:28:58,500 You know, special hours, you know, all of those things. 679 00:28:58,500 --> 00:29:00,370 It doesn't look like we'll need it. 680 00:29:00,370 --> 00:29:03,260 Real quick to compliment Kathleen Douglas, who says 681 00:29:03,260 --> 00:29:05,360 you know, avoiding high-tech. 682 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:06,310 I applaud that. 683 00:29:06,310 --> 00:29:08,820 It all depends upon your ratio obviously, 684 00:29:08,820 --> 00:29:10,900 of how many people you're dealing with. 685 00:29:10,900 --> 00:29:14,070 But if you're in person is not 10 times better 686 00:29:14,070 --> 00:29:17,450 than your tech, then you're missing an opportunity 687 00:29:17,450 --> 00:29:19,290 because I think that goes back to what, you know, 688 00:29:19,290 --> 00:29:23,270 Brian was saying, it's a trust relationship that you have, 689 00:29:23,270 --> 00:29:24,990 especially in farming 690 00:29:24,990 --> 00:29:27,240 because you're inviting people on your property. 691 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:28,520 They become part of things. 692 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:30,830 They are excited to see the story 693 00:29:30,830 --> 00:29:34,210 of what's unfolding and how it's unfolding. 694 00:29:34,210 --> 00:29:36,060 So it's exciting to be a part of it. 695 00:29:36,060 --> 00:29:37,160 - Great, thanks. 696 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:38,540 Vera. 697 00:29:38,540 --> 00:29:42,040 - Hi Debbie. I have a question about your welcomers 698 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:44,170 that you mentioned at the beginning 699 00:29:44,170 --> 00:29:46,880 and just sort of what the main points that they touched 700 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:48,740 on as they were welcoming people into the farm. 701 00:29:48,740 --> 00:29:50,150 And how much of that was general 702 00:29:50,150 --> 00:29:52,890 and how much of is specific to your safety points. 703 00:29:52,890 --> 00:29:54,260 - No, great question. 704 00:29:54,260 --> 00:29:58,550 So our welcomers are usually, and I can say this openly 705 00:29:58,550 --> 00:30:01,500 because I'm related to them, set of seniors. 706 00:30:01,500 --> 00:30:03,814 My mom, my father-in-law, my mother-in-law 707 00:30:03,814 --> 00:30:06,660 or a set of fantastic teenagers. 708 00:30:06,660 --> 00:30:08,550 We have two teenagers turned employees, 709 00:30:08,550 --> 00:30:10,920 so that could be a whole other like extension thing. 710 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:12,890 Like how to turn your teenagers and employees. 711 00:30:12,890 --> 00:30:15,070 But what essentially we do is the first question. 712 00:30:15,070 --> 00:30:17,540 Well, always it's welcome to Valley Fruits and Veggies. 713 00:30:17,540 --> 00:30:20,630 Then it's have you visit us here before,? 714 00:30:20,630 --> 00:30:22,720 Because by getting that there 715 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:24,980 they are not automatically receiving like 716 00:30:24,980 --> 00:30:28,250 the edict of, you know, 50 pieces of information 717 00:30:28,250 --> 00:30:30,070 because if they walk in with confidence of, 718 00:30:30,070 --> 00:30:32,750 yeah, we've been here before, you know, stuff like that, 719 00:30:32,750 --> 00:30:34,960 we just go right into, do you have any questions? 720 00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:37,420 And that kinda, you know, keeps it going. 721 00:30:37,420 --> 00:30:39,820 Also as a business, we then know what percentage 722 00:30:39,820 --> 00:30:42,190 of people are return customers versus new. 723 00:30:42,190 --> 00:30:43,530 So as soon as they say, 724 00:30:43,530 --> 00:30:45,130 oh, we haven't been here before. 725 00:30:45,130 --> 00:30:48,990 We like, hone in on like the smiles of Disneyland 726 00:30:48,990 --> 00:30:51,890 and that is, Ah, we're so thankful that you're here. 727 00:30:51,890 --> 00:30:53,584 So we acknowledge that. 728 00:30:53,584 --> 00:30:55,173 We just kind of give the lay 729 00:30:55,173 --> 00:30:58,570 of the land and then we always back up with 730 00:30:58,570 --> 00:31:00,080 do you have any questions? 731 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:03,230 So it's not so much about us trying to say again, 732 00:31:03,230 --> 00:31:04,830 hey, these are the 15, you know 733 00:31:04,830 --> 00:31:06,160 here's the PowerPoint presentation 734 00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:07,670 and please remember to do this. 735 00:31:07,670 --> 00:31:10,190 But rather, you know what do you need? 736 00:31:10,190 --> 00:31:12,490 Because usually they found us, you know, 737 00:31:12,490 --> 00:31:13,810 because they've seen something 738 00:31:13,810 --> 00:31:15,270 or somebody mentioned it to them, 739 00:31:15,270 --> 00:31:17,470 or they saw an ad, or a Facebook. 740 00:31:17,470 --> 00:31:20,010 So they have some sort of mindset. 741 00:31:20,010 --> 00:31:24,950 And just by us showing that comfort level of a relationship 742 00:31:24,950 --> 00:31:27,000 and then after the point where we say, 743 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:28,510 do you have any questions? 744 00:31:28,510 --> 00:31:31,300 It's always, let us know if you need anything. 745 00:31:31,300 --> 00:31:33,370 They say we're wearing this shirt, you know, 746 00:31:33,370 --> 00:31:36,680 I'm Debbie and, you know, off they go. 747 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:39,180 And what we also do with our greeters is 748 00:31:39,180 --> 00:31:41,510 we rotate them quite frequently. 749 00:31:41,510 --> 00:31:45,520 I would say once every hour or so to different jobs 750 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:46,680 because then all of a sudden, 751 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:49,530 they're seeing the same people they just greeted 752 00:31:49,530 --> 00:31:51,927 and are now going, "Oh, how's it going?" 753 00:31:51,927 --> 00:31:53,010 "Oh, have a great day". 754 00:31:53,010 --> 00:31:55,090 And it's the same thing with the exit on the farm. 755 00:31:55,090 --> 00:31:56,440 It's not just, you know, bye. 756 00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:58,210 It's, how was your visit? 757 00:31:58,210 --> 00:32:00,900 Do you have any ideas or suggestions? 758 00:32:00,900 --> 00:32:04,060 Because you know, the only negative review 759 00:32:04,060 --> 00:32:06,640 we got last year was a gentleman who came onsite 760 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:08,010 and then gave us one star, 761 00:32:08,010 --> 00:32:09,173 Cause he said we needed to plant more berries 762 00:32:09,173 --> 00:32:11,170 because we had run out that day. 763 00:32:11,170 --> 00:32:12,590 So, you know, like the comment. 764 00:32:12,590 --> 00:32:13,900 If you only have one out of 1,000, 765 00:32:13,900 --> 00:32:15,160 I'll take that all day. 766 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:16,720 I didn't even respond to it on Google, 767 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:19,300 I'm like, I'm just gonna leave it there. 768 00:32:19,300 --> 00:32:21,960 Because you know, when you're able to, you know 769 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:24,830 let people know that you're open to that feedback, 770 00:32:24,830 --> 00:32:26,330 it just saves so much hassle. 771 00:32:26,330 --> 00:32:28,790 So hopefully, that was helpful Vera. 772 00:32:28,790 --> 00:32:29,990 Awesome. 773 00:32:29,990 --> 00:32:30,823 - Thank you. 774 00:32:30,823 --> 00:32:33,080 There's a new comment coming in from Erin. 775 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:34,600 Last year for COVID precautions 776 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:36,720 we only provided new containers. 777 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:38,580 That's another question that came up a lot, 778 00:32:38,580 --> 00:32:39,980 the containers. 779 00:32:39,980 --> 00:32:42,710 For each customer at each visit instead of allowing them 780 00:32:42,710 --> 00:32:45,810 do we use pass berry containers or apple bags. 781 00:32:45,810 --> 00:32:48,010 That's something I've seen in VA as well. 782 00:32:48,010 --> 00:32:50,470 This was done in conjunction was last year's guidelines 783 00:32:50,470 --> 00:32:52,360 from New England extension. 784 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:53,930 This system worked well for us, 785 00:32:53,930 --> 00:32:56,000 but did come with a lot of complaints 786 00:32:56,000 --> 00:33:00,050 from customers who prefer to use old containers. 787 00:33:00,050 --> 00:33:03,300 Do you expect the POI guidelines this year 788 00:33:03,300 --> 00:33:06,290 to still recommend single use containers? 789 00:33:06,290 --> 00:33:07,390 Thank you. 790 00:33:07,390 --> 00:33:08,420 - I love this question 791 00:33:08,420 --> 00:33:10,960 because who knew we could have like hours debates 792 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:13,110 over containers as we're standing there with like, 793 00:33:13,110 --> 00:33:15,240 the family that comes with the 20 Tupperwares 794 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:18,290 and like, this disgusting looking thing, but anyways. 795 00:33:18,290 --> 00:33:20,108 So how we handle that is 796 00:33:20,108 --> 00:33:24,460 if it was a container that had been ours from years past 797 00:33:24,460 --> 00:33:27,240 so we didn't have to do a tare weight ahead of time. 798 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:29,620 They could go ahead and use it. 799 00:33:29,620 --> 00:33:32,767 If it was a home container all we said to them is, 800 00:33:32,767 --> 00:33:35,150 hey look, you know, distribute the Tupperwares 801 00:33:35,150 --> 00:33:36,500 to all of your family members 802 00:33:36,500 --> 00:33:39,100 and have them dump it into one of ours 803 00:33:39,100 --> 00:33:41,780 because then we know that way and our, you know 804 00:33:41,780 --> 00:33:45,080 we're then not having to touch things along the way. 805 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:46,274 We haven't made any firm decision 806 00:33:46,274 --> 00:33:49,821 on what we're doing this year again with that. 807 00:33:49,821 --> 00:33:52,420 You know, as Brian was saying 808 00:33:52,420 --> 00:33:54,100 before they expect certain things, 809 00:33:54,100 --> 00:33:56,440 but at the same time this is a moment as a farm. 810 00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:58,000 Because while you can charge for the box 811 00:33:58,000 --> 00:33:59,280 and earn a little bit of money 812 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:01,150 and it kinda simplifies things at the register 813 00:34:01,150 --> 00:34:03,640 when you're not having these 80 containers of things. 814 00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:06,430 So that that's more of a business logistical, 815 00:34:06,430 --> 00:34:08,320 you know, thing that we're gonna be doing. 816 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:10,650 But yeah, no containers. 817 00:34:10,650 --> 00:34:12,100 It's like the grocery bags. 818 00:34:12,100 --> 00:34:14,890 I bring my, you know, nice recyclable grocery bags 819 00:34:14,890 --> 00:34:17,240 to Wegmans and sometimes they'll bag it for me 820 00:34:17,240 --> 00:34:19,220 and sometimes they won't depending upon the person. 821 00:34:19,220 --> 00:34:22,260 So, we're all adjusting to that one still. 822 00:34:22,260 --> 00:34:24,590 So yeah, good question, good question. 823 00:34:24,590 --> 00:34:25,453 - Good question. 824 00:34:26,670 --> 00:34:29,286 So in the sign-off we also got a couple of questions 825 00:34:29,286 --> 00:34:33,170 regarding snacking in the field and masking. 826 00:34:33,170 --> 00:34:34,920 And I know that's gonna be different 827 00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:37,430 you know, in each state. 828 00:34:37,430 --> 00:34:39,300 So did you allow us snacking 829 00:34:39,300 --> 00:34:42,400 and how does it work with the eating 830 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:44,300 and the masks and the snacking? 831 00:34:44,300 --> 00:34:46,230 What's your view on that? 832 00:34:46,230 --> 00:34:48,930 - We are a free for all on that one. 833 00:34:48,930 --> 00:34:52,590 And we know we're not like a lot of farmers and we love it. 834 00:34:52,590 --> 00:34:55,110 We encourage the snacking. 835 00:34:55,110 --> 00:34:58,010 We say, look, if you think that you can make a dent 836 00:34:58,010 --> 00:35:01,040 in our five acres of strawberries, go for it. 837 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:03,900 Because quite frankly, those people who, you know, 838 00:35:05,870 --> 00:35:07,070 there's a difference between 839 00:35:07,070 --> 00:35:08,820 in the field and snacking and picking, 840 00:35:08,820 --> 00:35:10,110 and paying, and leaving. 841 00:35:10,110 --> 00:35:12,280 There are those that I'm sure you've had 842 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:15,210 where all of a sudden you see their box and bin go to a side 843 00:35:15,210 --> 00:35:16,900 and then they're snacking before paying. 844 00:35:16,900 --> 00:35:19,890 We redirect them, you know, hey, you know, time to pay. 845 00:35:19,890 --> 00:35:22,260 Honestly from a safety perspective 846 00:35:22,260 --> 00:35:23,907 because we have the hand washing stations 847 00:35:23,907 --> 00:35:26,189 and the hand sanitizer of it all, 848 00:35:26,189 --> 00:35:28,570 it's usually only the kids that end up sticky 849 00:35:28,570 --> 00:35:31,280 and they're not the ones paying along the way. 850 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:33,950 So we were just, you know, very supportive 851 00:35:33,950 --> 00:35:36,488 and cautious of, hey, if you're a mess 852 00:35:36,488 --> 00:35:38,070 why you go clean yourself 853 00:35:38,070 --> 00:35:39,830 before coming up to the register? 854 00:35:39,830 --> 00:35:41,260 But it didn't need to be a sign, 855 00:35:41,260 --> 00:35:42,800 it didn't need to be anything else. 856 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:45,080 We find quite opposite, usually, 857 00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:47,760 they're the parents that are like, don't eat them, 858 00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:49,850 You know, you're stealing. 859 00:35:49,850 --> 00:35:52,230 And so we've had to educate the opposite to say, 860 00:35:52,230 --> 00:35:53,970 no, that's fine. 861 00:35:53,970 --> 00:35:58,080 And that goes back to really our love of, you know, kiddos. 862 00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:00,720 The tactile learning that happens 863 00:36:00,720 --> 00:36:03,020 from that moment of digging, you know, 864 00:36:03,020 --> 00:36:06,560 touching dirt, a plant, stickiness, you know, eating it. 865 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:08,970 I don't see kids licking our plants usually, 866 00:36:08,970 --> 00:36:11,682 so we haven't seen those kinds of things, 867 00:36:11,682 --> 00:36:12,880 thankfully. 868 00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:15,040 I'm more worried about the mom who is trying 869 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:16,890 to change a diaper in the middle of the field. 870 00:36:16,890 --> 00:36:18,720 Like, you know, those are the incidents 871 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:21,980 that are definitely more on a danger zone 872 00:36:21,980 --> 00:36:24,660 or those moments where a service dog comes up on site. 873 00:36:24,660 --> 00:36:26,680 Like that is a huge issue 874 00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:28,520 because you cannot deny them service, 875 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:30,330 But then now that there has been a dog 876 00:36:30,330 --> 00:36:31,910 in the field in a certain place 877 00:36:31,910 --> 00:36:34,010 you can't have people pick there. 878 00:36:34,010 --> 00:36:36,870 So we are very conscious about those moments 879 00:36:36,870 --> 00:36:39,770 that I think caused a lot more impact. 880 00:36:39,770 --> 00:36:41,900 So, no, I know there's a lot of different feelings 881 00:36:41,900 --> 00:36:43,050 on that one out there, 882 00:36:43,050 --> 00:36:45,340 but that is what we have gone with 883 00:36:45,340 --> 00:36:49,170 and it is something that we are now known for. 884 00:36:49,170 --> 00:36:50,440 Because there are other farms 885 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:52,130 where if their child has had 886 00:36:52,130 --> 00:36:54,860 the experience of being scolded by an employee somewhere, 887 00:36:54,860 --> 00:36:57,070 don't eat it and then coming to ours, 888 00:36:57,070 --> 00:36:59,330 you know, it's a positive in our way. 889 00:36:59,330 --> 00:37:02,070 But definitely, you know. 890 00:37:02,070 --> 00:37:03,380 But no, I hear you Kathleen, 891 00:37:03,380 --> 00:37:07,410 it be realistic to have a tiny children not bite an apple 892 00:37:07,410 --> 00:37:09,770 Apples are a different commodity. 893 00:37:09,770 --> 00:37:11,890 So strawberries are very different 894 00:37:11,890 --> 00:37:13,680 than an apple with things. 895 00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:14,860 - Thanks. 896 00:37:14,860 --> 00:37:18,070 There was another comment coming in that Kathleen said, 897 00:37:18,070 --> 00:37:20,330 that they moved away from weighing fruit 898 00:37:20,330 --> 00:37:25,260 to providing pin quatre containers with a set price. 899 00:37:25,260 --> 00:37:27,530 And what have you been doing, Deb? 900 00:37:27,530 --> 00:37:29,170 - That is something we've been tracking. 901 00:37:29,170 --> 00:37:31,960 So my sister and brother-in-law are down in Texas 902 00:37:31,960 --> 00:37:35,930 and we were visiting with them in early on a March. 903 00:37:35,930 --> 00:37:38,110 And so we were upset because we were just like 904 00:37:38,110 --> 00:37:40,390 two weeks away from their strawberries being ready. 905 00:37:40,390 --> 00:37:45,120 They were getting $7 a pound for strawberries 906 00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:49,100 and selling out within the morning every day. 907 00:37:49,100 --> 00:37:50,760 We're like, oh we gotta go down to Texas. 908 00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:53,100 So if anybody wants to do a co-op in Texas, 909 00:37:53,100 --> 00:37:54,970 we're already for it. 910 00:37:54,970 --> 00:37:58,810 And so, but they were also selling them by the bucket, 911 00:37:58,810 --> 00:37:59,643 which was interesting. 912 00:37:59,643 --> 00:38:03,230 You could do $15 for the bucket or $7 a pound, 913 00:38:03,230 --> 00:38:05,120 depending upon how, you know, it reached out. 914 00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:06,480 And I think if you bought the bucket 915 00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:08,950 you ended up saving like $1.50 or something like that. 916 00:38:08,950 --> 00:38:10,347 But somebody who didn't wanna fill the bucket, 917 00:38:10,347 --> 00:38:12,400 you know, that's where it was at. 918 00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:14,970 So we've been considering that 919 00:38:14,970 --> 00:38:17,430 to see, you know, what it may be. 920 00:38:17,430 --> 00:38:18,640 It won't be this year, 921 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:22,130 but next year we may do a test comparison of, 922 00:38:22,130 --> 00:38:24,020 okay the standard box versus, 923 00:38:24,020 --> 00:38:25,330 cause the buckets are really nice. 924 00:38:25,330 --> 00:38:26,640 You can brand them. 925 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:28,690 People are more likely to keep them, you know, 926 00:38:28,690 --> 00:38:30,700 year to year and bring them back. 927 00:38:30,700 --> 00:38:32,540 You know they can be dishwasher safe, 928 00:38:32,540 --> 00:38:34,930 so people can sanitize them. 929 00:38:34,930 --> 00:38:38,910 So I think it's a pretty neat trend that is out there. 930 00:38:38,910 --> 00:38:41,080 It's how do you 931 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:45,880 keep the family, that's just out for an adventure happy, 932 00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:47,540 while you get the jammer 933 00:38:47,540 --> 00:38:51,570 who's going for 75 pounds, you know, happy as well? 934 00:38:51,570 --> 00:38:55,300 So that's the two drastic different 935 00:38:55,300 --> 00:38:56,840 berry pickers that are out there. 936 00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:59,560 What we do is we served strawberry milkshakes 937 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:02,093 so we just keep them all happy at the same time. 938 00:39:02,940 --> 00:39:04,920 Distract them with food. 939 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:05,753 - Yeah. 940 00:39:05,753 --> 00:39:06,586 And check out that article 941 00:39:06,586 --> 00:39:08,210 that's on our website from last year. 942 00:39:08,210 --> 00:39:09,043 Lots of good ideas. 943 00:39:09,043 --> 00:39:11,763 What are the safe activities you can do. 944 00:39:12,668 --> 00:39:14,490 Someone questions on the companion pets, 945 00:39:14,490 --> 00:39:16,210 I know it's a food safety issue, right? 946 00:39:16,210 --> 00:39:19,010 But I think we maybe should elaborate on this one more. 947 00:39:19,010 --> 00:39:20,070 And Scott is saying like, 948 00:39:20,070 --> 00:39:23,070 what are the opinions on allowing companion pets? 949 00:39:23,070 --> 00:39:25,130 And Kathleen is saying it's hard 950 00:39:25,130 --> 00:39:27,120 because you know, they might support one person 951 00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:29,150 but they might trigger another person 952 00:39:29,150 --> 00:39:31,640 beside the food safety aspect. 953 00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:33,730 Do you have anything more? 954 00:39:33,730 --> 00:39:37,180 Or anyone else please feel free to chime in as well. 955 00:39:37,180 --> 00:39:39,220 - So as for companion pets 956 00:39:39,220 --> 00:39:43,750 it's an absolute zero in the strawberry field. 957 00:39:43,750 --> 00:39:46,090 Service animals, very different. 958 00:39:46,090 --> 00:39:49,468 And when someone comes on with a service animal 959 00:39:49,468 --> 00:39:52,180 we immediately develop a relationship with them. 960 00:39:52,180 --> 00:39:53,660 We thank them for coming. 961 00:39:53,660 --> 00:39:56,060 We give them our personal card 962 00:39:56,060 --> 00:39:58,900 and say, "Hey, next time you wanna come we want you here, 963 00:39:58,900 --> 00:40:00,340 but can you give us a heads up 964 00:40:00,340 --> 00:40:02,960 and we will prepare the area for you?" 965 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:04,510 Cause they end up being appreciative too, 966 00:40:04,510 --> 00:40:06,560 because usually they don't wanna walk too far 967 00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:09,260 or you know anything else of goes along with it. 968 00:40:09,260 --> 00:40:12,950 Because what we'll often do is offer a replacement of 969 00:40:12,950 --> 00:40:15,790 the service animal with one of our employees, 970 00:40:15,790 --> 00:40:18,190 if that is appropriate for them. 971 00:40:18,190 --> 00:40:19,990 If not, then, you know, we support 972 00:40:19,990 --> 00:40:21,900 what their comfort is needed. 973 00:40:21,900 --> 00:40:24,960 Now, in the fall we're pumpkins and a corn maize, 974 00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:28,500 so that is not an eating type response. 975 00:40:28,500 --> 00:40:31,400 We just make sure that when people say, 976 00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:33,290 oh yeah, can we bring it in the fall? 977 00:40:33,290 --> 00:40:34,930 We just say, we love you in the fall, 978 00:40:34,930 --> 00:40:36,810 in the spring though, you know 979 00:40:36,810 --> 00:40:38,720 the pooch will have to be left at home. 980 00:40:38,720 --> 00:40:40,570 And people are understanding of it, 981 00:40:40,570 --> 00:40:42,710 we've never had an issue per se. 982 00:40:42,710 --> 00:40:44,850 We've had more issues with motorcycle people 983 00:40:44,850 --> 00:40:46,820 looking to park on the non gravel 984 00:40:46,820 --> 00:40:49,070 and being upset that they have to park on the gravel. 985 00:40:49,070 --> 00:40:51,880 So it's amazing. 986 00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:54,870 What would people are kinda need to feel a dig at? 987 00:40:54,870 --> 00:40:58,170 But you grow with it, you go with it. 988 00:40:58,170 --> 00:41:00,880 - Yeah, because actually by law, you know, 989 00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:03,510 people who have service animals generally have a card 990 00:41:03,510 --> 00:41:06,017 that says, this is an official service animal 991 00:41:06,017 --> 00:41:11,017 and you cannot not let them in any place, it's under ADA. 992 00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:13,430 But the folks that come up and say cause I've run into this, 993 00:41:13,430 --> 00:41:15,580 particularly with public markets, large public markets 994 00:41:15,580 --> 00:41:16,820 and people wanna bring their dogs 995 00:41:16,820 --> 00:41:18,900 and they have indoor buildings, 996 00:41:18,900 --> 00:41:23,890 and they struggle to keep people with their comfort 997 00:41:23,890 --> 00:41:25,680 or companion pets out, 998 00:41:25,680 --> 00:41:28,270 but they do not have to let them in. 999 00:41:28,270 --> 00:41:30,300 - We would like to, you know, more tell the deer 1000 00:41:30,300 --> 00:41:32,749 and the fox to stay out of it, but that's 1001 00:41:32,749 --> 00:41:33,582 enough 1002 00:41:33,582 --> 00:41:34,415 (laughter drowns out other sounds) 1003 00:41:34,415 --> 00:41:36,780 and the birds and everything else. 1004 00:41:36,780 --> 00:41:40,060 So yeah, no, we did have a cat in a backpack once. 1005 00:41:40,060 --> 00:41:42,515 So that was a fun conversation 1006 00:41:42,515 --> 00:41:43,729 of complimenting the backpack. 1007 00:41:43,729 --> 00:41:44,633 It's like, sorry. 1008 00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:48,170 - These are really good points. 1009 00:41:48,170 --> 00:41:51,000 Pamela is saying that they offer buckets 1010 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:53,270 or was it a posit for their sunflowers? 1011 00:41:53,270 --> 00:41:57,071 I wonder if it's like a fancy or a branded bucket? 1012 00:41:57,071 --> 00:41:58,624 If the visitors do not want the bucket 1013 00:41:58,624 --> 00:42:01,480 they get this $3 back upon return, 1014 00:42:01,480 --> 00:42:04,190 most people pay for the bucket. 1015 00:42:04,190 --> 00:42:06,159 So Pamela, is it a fancy bucket, I'm wandering? 1016 00:42:06,159 --> 00:42:08,190 Branded with their name. 1017 00:42:08,190 --> 00:42:13,060 Okay, so it's also a little bit of a momentum as well. 1018 00:42:13,060 --> 00:42:17,340 So we're going in the last quarter of the hour. 1019 00:42:17,340 --> 00:42:20,770 If you have any questions now is your chance 1020 00:42:22,757 --> 00:42:24,190 to ask Deb. 1021 00:42:24,190 --> 00:42:26,150 If you need some more time, 1022 00:42:26,150 --> 00:42:28,880 I have another question 1023 00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:33,690 I prepared from before that you entered in the form. 1024 00:42:33,690 --> 00:42:36,100 So one question was, how would you minimize damage 1025 00:42:36,100 --> 00:42:38,610 to my crop from pick your own customers? 1026 00:42:38,610 --> 00:42:40,083 So that's not really a COVID related question, 1027 00:42:40,083 --> 00:42:42,490 but I did get in touch with Kathy Demchak, 1028 00:42:42,490 --> 00:42:46,180 who was working with berries at Penn State Extension. 1029 00:42:46,180 --> 00:42:47,780 And she just mentioned that, 1030 00:42:47,780 --> 00:42:49,130 you know, practices differ 1031 00:42:49,130 --> 00:42:52,633 and here are some of the things that she observed. 1032 00:42:52,633 --> 00:42:55,090 So you can hand out color-coded flags 1033 00:42:55,090 --> 00:42:57,910 and assign a single row that visitors can pick 1034 00:42:57,910 --> 00:43:00,390 or you have like different colors, flags, 1035 00:43:00,390 --> 00:43:03,090 and the visitors can then 1036 00:43:03,090 --> 00:43:05,310 mark where they stopped picking the row 1037 00:43:05,310 --> 00:43:07,830 and then someone else can take over. 1038 00:43:07,830 --> 00:43:10,680 or you just tell a certain section of a role 1039 00:43:10,680 --> 00:43:12,130 instead of by the pounds. 1040 00:43:12,130 --> 00:43:14,060 So these are all different options. 1041 00:43:14,060 --> 00:43:17,470 Or, you know, just let people go wherever where they want, 1042 00:43:17,470 --> 00:43:19,730 which you can do when you have five acres of strawberry 1043 00:43:19,730 --> 00:43:23,000 and you just charge a high enough price to go with it. 1044 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:24,980 - So I have something that we did last year due 1045 00:43:24,980 --> 00:43:28,170 to COVID that we're gonna keep as a policy. 1046 00:43:28,170 --> 00:43:30,930 Is we said, you know, children must stay 1047 00:43:30,930 --> 00:43:33,532 with their parents at all times. 1048 00:43:33,532 --> 00:43:36,760 You know, and that was, it's great with the COVID umbrella, 1049 00:43:36,760 --> 00:43:38,733 you know, over top of that. 1050 00:43:39,600 --> 00:43:41,810 Quality parenting 101, 1051 00:43:41,810 --> 00:43:43,616 but that's okay. 1052 00:43:43,616 --> 00:43:47,320 You know, that was definitely something that we will add 1053 00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:50,610 to our, you know, requests of the farm 1054 00:43:50,610 --> 00:43:52,623 post COVID and beyond. 1055 00:43:52,623 --> 00:43:54,480 Just you know, for safety reasons, 1056 00:43:54,480 --> 00:43:56,080 you know, please keep your kiddos with you. 1057 00:43:56,080 --> 00:44:01,080 Cause you know most damage is done by an accident 1058 00:44:01,106 --> 00:44:03,510 with things along the way. 1059 00:44:03,510 --> 00:44:05,870 Because always the berry and the next row is better 1060 00:44:05,870 --> 00:44:09,140 and you know, bigger and redder and I just gotta get to it. 1061 00:44:09,140 --> 00:44:11,840 The other thing is, as farmers 1062 00:44:11,840 --> 00:44:15,230 if we can keep the weed control down 1063 00:44:15,230 --> 00:44:17,620 people will see the natural paths. 1064 00:44:17,620 --> 00:44:20,260 We've seen, you know, field struggle more. 1065 00:44:20,260 --> 00:44:21,600 I mean, we plant on plastic, 1066 00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:24,260 which makes a world of difference, oh my goodness. 1067 00:44:24,260 --> 00:44:26,300 And so, you know, there's a raised row 1068 00:44:26,300 --> 00:44:27,270 so people kinda you know, 1069 00:44:27,270 --> 00:44:30,030 follow the maize pattern of what the field is. 1070 00:44:30,030 --> 00:44:32,020 But yeah, if you've got overgrowth 1071 00:44:32,020 --> 00:44:33,470 that's gonna be a much harder, 1072 00:44:33,470 --> 00:44:36,150 because you don't see the berries and the plants 1073 00:44:36,150 --> 00:44:37,010 because of weed control, 1074 00:44:37,010 --> 00:44:38,910 but things like that happen. 1075 00:44:38,910 --> 00:44:41,020 So we all just, you know, deal with it and roll with it. 1076 00:44:41,020 --> 00:44:43,410 But yeah, encourage families just to stay together 1077 00:44:43,410 --> 00:44:47,480 and I think that also helps the trampling of plants. 1078 00:44:47,480 --> 00:44:49,120 - Really good points. 1079 00:44:49,120 --> 00:44:53,020 Annie is asking, she's wondering how everyone else went 1080 00:44:53,020 --> 00:44:56,440 about social distancing on their hayrides? 1081 00:44:56,440 --> 00:44:58,040 - Crossed our fingers and said, get on. 1082 00:44:58,040 --> 00:45:00,710 I mean, that's the reality. 1083 00:45:00,710 --> 00:45:02,240 You know, we our hayride, 1084 00:45:02,240 --> 00:45:04,900 hay wagons are designed 1085 00:45:04,900 --> 00:45:07,470 that there's the bench seats around the perimeter 1086 00:45:07,470 --> 00:45:10,840 but then you can do a row of straw bales in the middle. 1087 00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:12,340 We didn't do the straw bales in the middle. 1088 00:45:12,340 --> 00:45:14,880 So, you know, we had them going more frequently 1089 00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:17,000 and just, you know, kept up the pace. 1090 00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:19,590 We definitely had staff on hand to help 1091 00:45:19,590 --> 00:45:21,290 with the loading and unloading 1092 00:45:21,290 --> 00:45:22,410 to keep the momentum 1093 00:45:22,410 --> 00:45:25,760 and safety and everything going on that, you know. 1094 00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:28,140 We did not worry about wiping things down per se, 1095 00:45:28,140 --> 00:45:30,110 just with the sunlight out there 1096 00:45:30,110 --> 00:45:32,250 other than, you know spilled things 1097 00:45:32,250 --> 00:45:34,580 and people forgetting things and stuff like that. 1098 00:45:34,580 --> 00:45:37,133 But yeah, it's the hayrides. 1099 00:45:39,240 --> 00:45:40,870 We were reading the customer, 1100 00:45:40,870 --> 00:45:42,750 that is they were looking a little timid, 1101 00:45:42,750 --> 00:45:43,850 we would just say, oh you're welcome 1102 00:45:43,850 --> 00:45:45,270 to wait for the next ride. 1103 00:45:45,270 --> 00:45:47,160 And they're like, oh, well, you know, it was at six feet. 1104 00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:49,470 I said, well, wear your mask if you're most comfortable. 1105 00:45:49,470 --> 00:45:51,080 And I said, kinda spread yourself out, 1106 00:45:51,080 --> 00:45:54,070 put your arms out to take up some more space. 1107 00:45:54,070 --> 00:45:55,260 So it's I gotta do things, 1108 00:45:55,260 --> 00:45:58,780 but thankfully, there really weren't complaints from that. 1109 00:45:58,780 --> 00:46:02,340 It's open air and it's not like getting into a car, 1110 00:46:02,340 --> 00:46:05,210 but yeah, that's another challenging moment. 1111 00:46:05,210 --> 00:46:06,043 - Yeah. 1112 00:46:06,043 --> 00:46:07,110 And I'll just chime in to say, you know 1113 00:46:07,110 --> 00:46:09,910 every farm really needs to do what works best for them. 1114 00:46:09,910 --> 00:46:11,040 And you know, again 1115 00:46:11,040 --> 00:46:12,840 things are gonna vary state by state. 1116 00:46:12,840 --> 00:46:15,560 I think in Vermont, there were very few 1117 00:46:15,560 --> 00:46:17,180 if any hayrides last year. 1118 00:46:17,180 --> 00:46:20,930 I think most people of Vermont just didn't even go there, 1119 00:46:20,930 --> 00:46:23,820 but you know, other states handled things differently 1120 00:46:23,820 --> 00:46:25,920 and you know, we'll have a lot more 1121 00:46:25,920 --> 00:46:29,090 transitional opportunities this year 1122 00:46:29,090 --> 00:46:32,630 for, you know, farms to start doing new things. 1123 00:46:32,630 --> 00:46:35,300 And you know, we look to the South 1124 00:46:35,300 --> 00:46:38,210 to see last year when pick your own was about to start 1125 00:46:38,210 --> 00:46:40,020 we were looking to Pennsylvania 1126 00:46:40,020 --> 00:46:42,600 and you know, other states who were doing it first 1127 00:46:42,600 --> 00:46:45,700 to see what was happening in, 1128 00:46:45,700 --> 00:46:48,130 I think we'll be doing the same this year 1129 00:46:48,130 --> 00:46:50,210 to see what's going on with hayrides 1130 00:46:50,210 --> 00:46:53,990 and all sorts of different types of farm experiences. 1131 00:46:53,990 --> 00:46:55,503 - Hi Pamela, again. 1132 00:46:56,450 --> 00:46:59,202 So Pamela held private hayrides. 1133 00:46:59,202 --> 00:47:01,860 Their wagon holds 20 people max, 1134 00:47:01,860 --> 00:47:03,780 they held a minimum of four 1135 00:47:03,780 --> 00:47:06,220 and a maximum of 16 in one group. 1136 00:47:06,220 --> 00:47:07,530 And they sold out 1137 00:47:07,530 --> 00:47:11,550 partially, because there was the only farm offering them. 1138 00:47:11,550 --> 00:47:13,060 And their challenge this year 1139 00:47:13,060 --> 00:47:16,250 is going to be holding private rights and public rights. 1140 00:47:16,250 --> 00:47:19,910 Yeah, as things, you know, loosen up a little bit 1141 00:47:19,910 --> 00:47:23,520 there's gonna be a whole time of confusion, I suppose. 1142 00:47:23,520 --> 00:47:26,170 Scott was saying they had limited people on wagons 1143 00:47:26,170 --> 00:47:27,810 and only pickers on the wagons. 1144 00:47:27,810 --> 00:47:29,500 Anyone who's just a sightseer 1145 00:47:30,986 --> 00:47:32,710 they had to walk. 1146 00:47:32,710 --> 00:47:34,140 So any other questions? 1147 00:47:34,140 --> 00:47:36,840 Chadley did you see any other questions, 1148 00:47:36,840 --> 00:47:40,093 I missed any other questions in the registration? 1149 00:47:41,200 --> 00:47:42,360 - No, I think you got them all, 1150 00:47:42,360 --> 00:47:44,910 unless it was one more in the registration 1151 00:47:44,910 --> 00:47:46,770 that you wanted to cover. 1152 00:47:46,770 --> 00:47:51,480 - I haven't seen any that's COVID related. 1153 00:47:51,480 --> 00:47:53,750 All right, if there are no other questions 1154 00:47:53,750 --> 00:47:57,310 I'm just gonna give it back to Lisa 1155 00:47:57,310 --> 00:47:59,610 and I'm gonna share my screen again. 1156 00:47:59,610 --> 00:48:02,290 - Okay, and while you're sharing your screen 1157 00:48:02,290 --> 00:48:03,780 what I wanna say is that 1158 00:48:03,780 --> 00:48:08,100 this first agritourism cafe, Zoom cafe, 1159 00:48:08,100 --> 00:48:11,770 that was Claudia's brain child to try a Zoom cafe. 1160 00:48:11,770 --> 00:48:15,560 Well, this is the first in a series of online sessions. 1161 00:48:15,560 --> 00:48:18,210 We've got different people doing different things 1162 00:48:18,210 --> 00:48:20,960 and were shooting for a roughly one a week, 1163 00:48:20,960 --> 00:48:24,900 most likely on Tuesdays, although the time's gonna vary. 1164 00:48:24,900 --> 00:48:29,283 Next week on May 11th, we're looking at an evening session, 1165 00:48:29,283 --> 00:48:30,580 7:00 to 8:00 pm. 1166 00:48:30,580 --> 00:48:33,060 And we've got folks from Rutgers 1167 00:48:33,060 --> 00:48:35,980 talking about agritourism operation checklists 1168 00:48:35,980 --> 00:48:39,140 and self-assessment on your farm. 1169 00:48:39,140 --> 00:48:42,770 And then we've got a whole series of different topics 1170 00:48:42,770 --> 00:48:45,050 coming up that are listed on our website. 1171 00:48:45,050 --> 00:48:48,440 And we'll put the websites here on the slide 1172 00:48:48,440 --> 00:48:50,350 and we'll also put it in chat for you. 1173 00:48:50,350 --> 00:48:52,650 And one thing I wanna mention is, thanks 1174 00:48:52,650 --> 00:48:56,540 to the Northeast Extension Risk Management Education Center 1175 00:48:56,540 --> 00:48:58,230 we're not only able to offer 1176 00:48:58,230 --> 00:49:03,190 this online session of Zoom cafes, and trainings, 1177 00:49:03,190 --> 00:49:05,320 and different types of conversations. 1178 00:49:05,320 --> 00:49:08,260 We're also able to offer 1179 00:49:08,260 --> 00:49:10,100 on farm visits. 1180 00:49:10,100 --> 00:49:12,240 So depending on your comfort level, 1181 00:49:12,240 --> 00:49:16,100 you can have someone on our team come to your farm, 1182 00:49:16,100 --> 00:49:17,970 this is throughout the Northeast, 1183 00:49:17,970 --> 00:49:19,980 and do a walkthrough with you. 1184 00:49:19,980 --> 00:49:21,830 And this will be someone most likely 1185 00:49:21,830 --> 00:49:23,630 who's never been to your farm. 1186 00:49:23,630 --> 00:49:27,200 And so they will be walking through with fresh eyes, 1187 00:49:27,200 --> 00:49:29,990 with the eyes of a visitor, looking for hazards, 1188 00:49:29,990 --> 00:49:31,390 looking for safety issues 1189 00:49:31,390 --> 00:49:35,340 and things that you might wanna change or approve 1190 00:49:35,340 --> 00:49:39,280 to help with your safety for your farm and your family, 1191 00:49:39,280 --> 00:49:42,670 but especially for that interface with visitors. 1192 00:49:42,670 --> 00:49:44,210 If you're less comfortable 1193 00:49:44,210 --> 00:49:45,650 with having someone visit your farm 1194 00:49:45,650 --> 00:49:49,160 we'll also do a video consultation or, you know, 1195 00:49:49,160 --> 00:49:51,890 email or phone or whatever works for you. 1196 00:49:51,890 --> 00:49:56,031 And the person leading those safety visits is Chadley. 1197 00:49:56,031 --> 00:49:59,610 So Chadley, will you take a moment to introduce yourself 1198 00:49:59,610 --> 00:50:03,140 and let us know your plans for traveling around 1199 00:50:03,140 --> 00:50:05,810 the Northeast and visiting farms this season? 1200 00:50:05,810 --> 00:50:07,600 - Yeah, thank you, Lisa. 1201 00:50:07,600 --> 00:50:09,840 Lisa pretty much covered it. 1202 00:50:09,840 --> 00:50:11,800 There's funding in this project. 1203 00:50:11,800 --> 00:50:15,020 You know, one part of the project is these online webinars. 1204 00:50:15,020 --> 00:50:17,180 And the other part is me 1205 00:50:17,180 --> 00:50:18,640 and probably some others 1206 00:50:18,640 --> 00:50:20,493 visiting farms around the Northeast. 1207 00:50:21,350 --> 00:50:25,780 If you're interested at all, Christie put a link 1208 00:50:25,780 --> 00:50:28,080 in the chat for me, 1209 00:50:28,080 --> 00:50:31,500 which you can click on and do a quick sign-up form. 1210 00:50:31,500 --> 00:50:35,620 If you do that, I'll reach out to you very soon after, 1211 00:50:35,620 --> 00:50:36,920 probably within a day 1212 00:50:39,080 --> 00:50:41,330 and schedule a time. 1213 00:50:41,330 --> 00:50:44,340 I'm available at your convenience, if you're further. 1214 00:50:44,340 --> 00:50:46,570 I live in Vermont, in Southern Vermont, 1215 00:50:46,570 --> 00:50:50,263 but I'm able to visit any part of the Northeast. 1216 00:50:51,140 --> 00:50:52,503 If you're say in, 1217 00:50:53,410 --> 00:50:54,590 you know, Pennsylvania 1218 00:50:54,590 --> 00:50:57,800 I may need to schedule you maybe at a later date, 1219 00:50:57,800 --> 00:50:59,700 I probably couldn't go there next week 1220 00:51:00,987 --> 00:51:02,580 and we'll plan around it. 1221 00:51:02,580 --> 00:51:06,300 But know that I'm able and willing and excited 1222 00:51:06,300 --> 00:51:08,480 to visit all farms around the Northeast. 1223 00:51:08,480 --> 00:51:10,790 So just let me know. 1224 00:51:10,790 --> 00:51:13,570 Feel free to fill out that form. 1225 00:51:13,570 --> 00:51:15,660 And yeah, if you have any questions right now 1226 00:51:15,660 --> 00:51:17,010 feel free to let me know. 1227 00:51:17,010 --> 00:51:19,830 - And one thing that would all add actually is that 1228 00:51:19,830 --> 00:51:23,660 we are coordinating with our extension colleagues 1229 00:51:23,660 --> 00:51:25,422 and other service provider colleagues 1230 00:51:25,422 --> 00:51:27,100 throughout the Northeast. 1231 00:51:27,100 --> 00:51:30,320 So if you have an extension agent 1232 00:51:30,320 --> 00:51:34,756 that you're working with regularly and you wanna, you know, 1233 00:51:34,756 --> 00:51:36,640 Chadley and that person can visit, 1234 00:51:36,640 --> 00:51:39,060 or if you feel more comfortable, just that person. 1235 00:51:39,060 --> 00:51:42,700 And we also, in the past, I've often found it helpful 1236 00:51:42,700 --> 00:51:46,700 to do these visits with insurance agents. 1237 00:51:46,700 --> 00:51:49,810 For example, Stewart Farnham is here with us today. 1238 00:51:49,810 --> 00:51:53,720 And he's an insurance agent that I've often worked with 1239 00:51:53,720 --> 00:51:56,980 and I'll bring him along on a farm walkthrough, 1240 00:51:56,980 --> 00:51:59,480 sometimes an emergency responder. 1241 00:51:59,480 --> 00:52:00,360 You know, we've found that 1242 00:52:00,360 --> 00:52:05,360 the more kind of new eyes on your farm, you know, 1243 00:52:06,010 --> 00:52:09,130 whether it's an extension person or an insurance agent, 1244 00:52:09,130 --> 00:52:11,970 or even, you know, even a neighbor 1245 00:52:11,970 --> 00:52:14,660 or somebody who just hasn't really been there 1246 00:52:14,660 --> 00:52:17,690 and can take a fresh look at your farm, 1247 00:52:17,690 --> 00:52:22,230 the more helpful it is at discovering potential problems 1248 00:52:22,230 --> 00:52:24,360 that you may not really recognize. 1249 00:52:24,360 --> 00:52:28,310 Some of which may be really easy to address. 1250 00:52:28,310 --> 00:52:30,100 You know, a couple of the big things 1251 00:52:30,100 --> 00:52:31,510 we're gonna be paying attention to 1252 00:52:31,510 --> 00:52:34,370 that we think are hopefully very easy to address 1253 00:52:34,370 --> 00:52:37,470 are hand washing stations and signage. 1254 00:52:37,470 --> 00:52:39,910 And where, you know, through this project 1255 00:52:39,910 --> 00:52:43,030 I mentioned earlier, we've got some do it yourself 1256 00:52:44,260 --> 00:52:46,570 foot pedal type of washing stations 1257 00:52:46,570 --> 00:52:48,690 that we wanna help you get set up with 1258 00:52:48,690 --> 00:52:50,670 as well as the proper signage, 1259 00:52:50,670 --> 00:52:53,540 letting people know to wash their hands, you know, 1260 00:52:53,540 --> 00:52:56,580 when and how to wash their hands properly. 1261 00:52:56,580 --> 00:53:00,470 So we are ready to support you in that area. 1262 00:53:00,470 --> 00:53:02,000 If you're thinking, hmm, 1263 00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:03,560 I probably should be doing this stuff, 1264 00:53:03,560 --> 00:53:06,270 but I'm busy, when am I gonna have time? 1265 00:53:06,270 --> 00:53:08,200 How am I gonna make it happen? 1266 00:53:08,200 --> 00:53:09,480 You know, that's our job, 1267 00:53:09,480 --> 00:53:12,360 to help you make it happen on your farm. 1268 00:53:12,360 --> 00:53:16,750 Unless there's anything else we can just kinda wrap up 1269 00:53:16,750 --> 00:53:18,400 with a reminder for next week. 1270 00:53:18,400 --> 00:53:21,710 Claudia, Deb, any closing remarks? 1271 00:53:21,710 --> 00:53:24,750 - Just a huge, thank you for this opportunity. 1272 00:53:24,750 --> 00:53:27,780 You know, we are always so blessed and excited by 1273 00:53:27,780 --> 00:53:30,150 the resources that are out there for us. 1274 00:53:30,150 --> 00:53:33,760 So if anyone is on this Zoom cafe for like 1275 00:53:33,760 --> 00:53:38,760 the first time reaching out I am always amazed by, you know, 1276 00:53:39,020 --> 00:53:40,890 the extensions and the universities 1277 00:53:40,890 --> 00:53:42,783 that you really wanna help us. 1278 00:53:43,621 --> 00:53:45,950 You know, we come up with these crazy questions and needs 1279 00:53:45,950 --> 00:53:48,530 and bugs and issues and stuff like that. 1280 00:53:48,530 --> 00:53:50,140 And there's always someone there 1281 00:53:50,140 --> 00:53:53,350 that's so geeked out on what we need. 1282 00:53:53,350 --> 00:53:55,820 And that's just like the big agricultural hug 1283 00:53:55,820 --> 00:53:58,120 that we need in the depths of it all. 1284 00:53:58,120 --> 00:54:00,870 But, you know, just blessings and love for all 1285 00:54:00,870 --> 00:54:02,680 the fellow farmers out there. 1286 00:54:02,680 --> 00:54:03,940 Life's an adventure. 1287 00:54:03,940 --> 00:54:05,810 There's always gonna be a different COVID 1288 00:54:05,810 --> 00:54:09,010 or a different challenge, or, you know, something else. 1289 00:54:09,010 --> 00:54:11,990 You know, people's tension divert from one topic 1290 00:54:11,990 --> 00:54:14,140 to the other because that's the attention span 1291 00:54:14,140 --> 00:54:15,810 of individuals out there. 1292 00:54:15,810 --> 00:54:17,920 But just keep doing what you're doing 1293 00:54:17,920 --> 00:54:19,220 and do a great job and know 1294 00:54:19,220 --> 00:54:21,210 that you're never alone out there. 1295 00:54:21,210 --> 00:54:22,290 - Great, thanks Deb. - Thanks Deb 1296 00:54:22,290 --> 00:54:23,123 Yeah. - Thank you. 1297 00:54:23,123 --> 00:54:25,230 - Claudia, you wanna make any closing remarks? 1298 00:54:25,230 --> 00:54:28,580 - I just want to thank everyone for joining. 1299 00:54:28,580 --> 00:54:32,550 And to all the producers, I mean, good luck this season. 1300 00:54:32,550 --> 00:54:35,360 I hope that things are gonna go back to, you know, 1301 00:54:35,360 --> 00:54:36,310 the new normal. 1302 00:54:36,310 --> 00:54:38,745 I don't even wanna say that fairly, fairly soon. 1303 00:54:38,745 --> 00:54:42,090 And Pamela was just saying that she's interested in 1304 00:54:42,090 --> 00:54:43,890 the liability insurance for farms. 1305 00:54:43,890 --> 00:54:47,340 So check out these events. 1306 00:54:47,340 --> 00:54:49,410 Go to the Vermont website. 1307 00:54:49,410 --> 00:54:50,670 This is how they're registered. 1308 00:54:50,670 --> 00:54:54,650 We just gonna send out to our usual channels here 1309 00:54:54,650 --> 00:54:55,990 it's a Penn State Extension, 1310 00:54:55,990 --> 00:55:00,580 but all of these events are going through Vermont extension. 1311 00:55:00,580 --> 00:55:02,030 - Okay, thanks. - Yeah. 1312 00:55:02,030 --> 00:55:04,190 Yeah, and we'll within a day or two, 1313 00:55:04,190 --> 00:55:06,690 once we get this recording up, 1314 00:55:06,690 --> 00:55:10,400 we'll send out an email to everyone who's registered, 1315 00:55:10,400 --> 00:55:13,550 you know, reminding you we've got these sessions coming up 1316 00:55:13,550 --> 00:55:16,540 and you can sign up for an on-farm safety assessment. 1317 00:55:16,540 --> 00:55:19,120 And here's our website, here's where to go. 1318 00:55:19,120 --> 00:55:21,530 So keep the questions coming 1319 00:55:21,530 --> 00:55:23,130 and keep the conversation going. 1320 00:55:23,130 --> 00:55:26,560 And hopefully, we'll see you next week. 1321 00:55:26,560 --> 00:55:28,350 Stay safe, everyone. 1322 00:55:28,350 --> 00:55:29,183 - Thank you everyone 1323 00:55:29,183 --> 00:55:30,281 - With you. 1324 00:55:30,281 --> 00:55:31,114 - Bye.