Counting the costs of COVID-19 among farmworkers
How much productivity is being lost on American farms because of COVID-19?
One website that purports to make such an estimation is Purdue University’s Food and Agriculture Vulnerability Index Dashboard.
The site indicated on July 28 that 78,770 farm workers have tested positive for COVID-19, out of a total caseload in the US of 4.2 million.
The index breaks down lost productivity in several sectors of agriculture, looking at beans, cattle, vegetables, hogs, chicken, wheat and rice.
For vegetables, the index shows lost productivity for fresh market vegetables is put at 1.26%.
That compares to a “lost productivity” rating of 1.26% for cattle and 1.30% for hogs.
The Purdue website also estimates COVID-19 cases among ag workers by state. See all the numbers here.
The loss in productivity is far less than the human toll.
Here are a few stories from the web on farmworkers and COVID-19
Advocates push for more farmworker protections as coronavirus cases surge
Mobile van to test Napa Valley farmworkers
This county knew coronavirus could ravage its farmworkers. Why didn’t officials stop it?
Farmworkers Are Among Those at Highest Risk for COVID-19, Studies Show
EWG interactive map of COVID-19 cases
