Farmers are continuing to operate nationwide as essential workers during the latest Level 4 lockdown.
Although it was business as usual, the Delta variant meant farmers had to be more vigilant as they "keep on trucking", DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle said.
"It's really key for people to look after themselves and do everything they can to stay free from this Covid Delta variant," Mackle told The Country Sport Breakfast's Brian Kelly.
Keeping farms ticking during a lockdown required a high focus on systems and procedures, and there were good practices farmers could follow.
Luckily, many smaller farms could already operate as a bubble, but farmers still needed to be mindful of their staff when they ventured off-farm, to minimise the risk of exposure, Mackle said.
"Like wearing masks when they're out in public, like we're all going to have to do."
Farm suppliers were also using click and collect methods to minimise the risk of infection in the community, Mackle said.
Larger farms with a lot of staff had another level of complexity to deal with, but Mackle suggested talking through procedures clearly with employees.
DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle. Photo / Supplied
"Make sure everyone understands they've got to think about how they operate away from the business as well, because that obviously brings added risks to the farm."
Farmers would continue to operate as essential workers even if this lockdown was extended, and therefore they needed to start thinking about aspects of their business that could be impacted, Mackle said.
"One of the issues is milk processing, and the dairy companies are doing what they can in that respect - and they're doing some great work like they did last time, to safeguard the processing of milk - which is excellent."
"At the same time you've also got stock that will need to be processed too and again, the meat companies have been meeting as well, and they're working through those issues too."
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Most importantly, farmers had to make sure they looked after themselves and their staff, especially with the current worker shortages on dairy farms, Mackle said.
"I think with this Covid scare as well, it just heightens the need to make sure you're looking after your staff and doing all the right things and making sure that they can turn up every day."
