March 23, 2020 — This morning Governor Whitmer announced a statewide “stay home, stay safe” executive order effective tonight at midnight. The announcement is here and a link to the order is here. Food and agriculture supply chain businesses in Michigan can continue to operate under this order, with employers and employees making every effort to maintain separation and follow other best practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Here are some important details about today’s order and guidance from MABA: The Michigan food and agriculture supply chain is designated in Governor Whitmer’s executive order as a critical industry that may continue to operate. The order references the guidance memo issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) entitled “Memorandum on Identification of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19 Response.” Food and agriculture elements of that memo are at the end of this page for your convenience. Communicating to your employees will be important. It may not be immediately apparent to people across the state, including agribusiness employees reading news reports, that food and agricultural businesses can continue to operate as essential infrastructure. We recommend considering a communication to employees detailing your operational plans. A communication template is available here or on our resources page. We encourage you to provide a letter to employees who are carrying out essential functions. We recommend employees be provided a brief in-transit letter on company letterhead identifying them as an employee of a food/agricultural business, and referencing both the executive order and the DHS/CISA memo. A letter template is available here or on our resources page. Health and safety remain paramount. This order is about protecting public health, and we strongly urge employers to review the social distancing and best practices information available both in the order and at Michigan.gov/coronavirus. In addition, we recommend taking a moment to review regular workplace safety procedures with your employees. We will continue to share information as it becomes available. With questions, contact Chuck Lippstreu at chuck@miagbiz.org. Reference: Food and Agriculture Sector Businesses Listed in DHS Memo Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Workers supporting groceries, pharmacies and other retail that sells food and beverage products Restaurant carry-out and quick serve food operations – Carry-out and delivery food employees Food manufacturer employees and their supplier employees—to include those employed in food processing (packers, meat processing, cheese plants, milk plants, produce, etc.) facilities; livestock, poultry, seafood slaughter facilities; pet and animal feed processing facilities; human food facilities producing by-products for animal food; beverage production facilities; and the production of food packaging Farm workers to include those employed in animal food, feed, and ingredient production, packaging, and distribution; manufacturing, packaging, and distribution of veterinary drugs; truck delivery and transport; farm and fishery labor needed to produce our food supply domestically Farm workers and support service workers to include those who field crops; commodity inspection; fuel ethanol facilities; storage facilities; and other agricultural inputs Employees and firms supporting food, feed, and beverage distribution, including warehouse workers, vendor-managed inventory controllers and blockchain managers Workers supporting the sanitation of all food manufacturing processes and operations from wholesale to retail Company cafeterias – in-plant cafeterias used to feed employees Workers in food testing labs in private industries and in institutions of higher education Workers essential for assistance programs and government payments Employees of companies engaged in the production of chemicals, medicines, vaccines, and other substances used by the food and agriculture industry, including pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, minerals, enrichments, and other agricultural production aids Animal agriculture workers to include those employed in veterinary health; manufacturing and distribution of animal medical materials, animal vaccines, animal drugs, feed ingredients, feed, and bedding, etc.; transportation of live animals, animal medical materials; transportation of deceased animals for disposal; raising of animals for food; animal production operations; slaughter and packing plants and associated regulatory and government workforce Workers who support the manufacture and distribution of forest products, including, but not limited to timber, paper, and other wood products Employees engaged in the manufacture and maintenance of equipment and other infrastructure necessary to agricultural production and distribution
