MONTPELIER – The month of April ended with fewer reports of Vermonters infected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) that has altered life on a global scale. This good news was tempered, however, by word from across the state that manure is spreading once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI thought maybe with being in isolation at home, wearing face masks at the grocery store, consistently engaging in social distancing, we\u2019d be able to put it all behind us, at least for a little while,\u201d said Mark Levine, Vermont Health Commissioner. \u201cBut then we started receiving reports of a different sort of environmental spread. People said green fields were suddenly brown. They were stuck behind farm equipment on the road. And, of course, there was the telltale smell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Levine spoke as part of Vermont Gov. Phil Scott\u2019s thrice-weekly press conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He went on to point out that signs of spreading manure have appeared here and there around the state since early April. With unseasonably cooler temperatures and rain, though, officials thought perhaps this season\u2019s outbreak would be stunted, or at least set back several weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With little else to do, though, farmers pressed on and hauled their cow manure-filled tankers and spreaders onto their fields and went to work, not only with the typical can-do spirit of Vermonters, but also with an unusual degree of unbridled enthusiasm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good being out here like this,\u201d one Franklin County farmer said. \u201cJust me, the tractor, the spreader, the manure. This is social distancing at its best. The way it was meant to be. A virus isn\u2019t gonna keep people away in the same way a steady shower of greenish-brown, chemically treated crap will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked what to expect regarding the ongoing spread of manure, Gov. Scott pointed out that patience is key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis will go away for a little while,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019ll be back later in the summer, again at the end of the season, another time or maybe even two or three in the fall. So we all need to be vigilant, keep an eye out for the warning signs. If you see a field being hayed or chopped, it\u2019s better to assume the spread will return soon there. Then it\u2019s up to you to keep the distance you need, not just for you, but for your loved ones and others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Levine encouraged Vermonters to engage in contact tracing as a method of steering clear of manure. While officials are dealing with COVID-19, he called for \u201ca civilian corps of manure marines\u201d to step up and handle manure at the ground level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe good thing about manure spreading,\u201d Levine said, \u201cis that it\u2019s incredibly easy to trace. Look for the tire tracks coming out of barnyards or fields, monitor the landscape for color changes, and perhaps most import of all, if you smell something, say something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pressed about his administration\u2019s slow response to the spread of manure, Scott offered no hesitation in pointing out that the global pandemic pulled away resources normally set aside for keeping an eye on such things. However, the Governor also provided a rare mea culpa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo be perfectly honest,\u201d Gov. Scott said, \u201cwe should have really seen this one coming. There\u2019s been something in the air for a while now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"