The fields may be quiet, but the machine shops are buzzing. Yes, winter is a great time to perform repairs and maintenance on farm machinery. Keep yourself and those around you safe by following these tips: [Read more…]
January 19, 2021 Kate Brown
Health and Safety Highlight: Prioritize Safety Year-Round, 5 Keys to Safe Winter Equipment Maintenance
May 5, 2020 Rick VanVranken
Sourcing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Your Farm Employees
PPE suppliers have been backlogged with orders for N95 facemasks, hand sanitizers, disinfectants and disposable gloves. Sourcing supplies for your essential agricultural workers may be a challenge. NJ Farm Bureau, with assistance of staff from Congressman Van Drew’s office, have been compiling lists of local and regional businesses that are able to supply PPE equipment (see table below).
Vendor Dave McDonough at General Chemical and Supply in Moorestown, strongly recommends farmers should “act fast”! Expect that as other businesses resume operations (i.e. reopen), demand will spike and cause delays. With this in mind, Pete Furey, NJ Farm Bureau Executive Director, suggests farmers should not sit on their hands and order at least a month’s supply of what is needed from where ever they regularly purchase PPE supplies.
Recognizing the rapid tightening of PPE supplies, the Fruit and Vegetable Assoc (FFVA) participated in a working group with the Dept of Homeland Security, FEMA and the FEMA Supply Chain Stabilization Task Force to prioritize and elevate the needs of the agricultural/food sector to gain access to additional personal protection equipment, as well as disinfectants and sanitation supplies, to protect the health and safety of employees within the ag sector. Attached is a spreadsheet shared by the FFVA listing additional sources of PPE and sanitation/disinfectant supplies.
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Lastly, in emergency situations, if farms cannot get PPE mask/gloves for their workers, they should contact their county Office of Emergency Management (OEM) who can request supplies from the Regional Operations Intelligence Center (ROIC). This is the public-private emergency response unit within the State Police emergency management headquarters that is handling the state supply of PPE.
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Sources of PPE Equipment & Supplies
| Company | Products | Contact | Address | Phone | |
| General Chemical & Supply | masks | David McDonough |
858 North Lenola Road, Unit 1A Moorestown NJ 08057 |
856 778 5550 | DMcDonough@GCSNJ.US
For ordering: Shannon@GCSNJ.US |
| Valken Sports | masks | Rob Pierce | 856-207-2983 | ||
| LD innovations | masks | David Reynolds | 856-287-1602 | Dir0614@gmail.com | |
| Evolution – St. Louis | hazmat suits, masks, gowns, hand sanitizer & wipes | John Elmuccio | 908-868-8284 | jelmuccio@evolutionstl.com | |
| Care and Wear | masks, gloves, goggles, gowns | Chaitenya Razdan | 800-410-5505 (office)
509-356-9128 (fax) |
crazdan@careandwear.com | |
| Gempler’s | masks, gloves, goggles, gowns | 800-382-8473 | gemplers.com |
