WARNING - THIS IS ANOTHER RANT FROM THE CEO

Why stay at home… ?  surely I can just pop out for some ”fresh air” by driving 10 mins down the road??  But we LOVE  that park, walkway etc...

This is a national level experience of one of childhoods finest games.   Hide and Seek.

We are both hider and seeker.

Remember the double back that masters of the game played?

• you waited till the ‘seeker’ came near you, failed to find you 
• When they moved on,  you moved to the place they already looked
  •  If you don’t remember doing that you SUCKED at hide and seek.

In the first instance we are the hidden and the scientists are the seeker. 

• We hide – from each other and every non-essential physical contact /movement that we are used to. 
• The scientists are the seekers – not of us but of the pathogen.  They are looking for patterns and clusters to try to eliminate.

 It is the best double back that you will ever play. 

How We Hide - The first step of double back

What we are asked to do it to hide from each other.  No one moves unless you absolutely HAVE to.

• No driving so you can take pooch to his/her/its favourite park
• No putting bikes on car to take in more scenic ride
• No driving "just to the reserve" without leaving your car – to get fresh air.
• Only the supermarket/dairy/pharmacy/medical assistance  WHEN YOU NEED TO

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If you have to ask if it is essential – it is likely not.

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How they seek

We hide so scientists can find where this virus actually is.  It will take a couple of weeks since lock down (about 10 days since people got serious about it) to find where this little *#$%er is hiding.

We then can make a plan – based on the information from other countries that have had experiences (both good and bad) about managing it.

That is when we – the hider – become the seeker.

We will seek a new normal. We will take the lead from the scientific community to manage this to ensure that our health system does not collapse and that those that need treatment (for this or any other medical issues) have access to care.

Farming is pretty lucky 

With a few tweaks - we can maintain our 2m distance from others [link for prompts].   We need to support the hide and seek game so that we can get back to business as usual (BAU) and keep our country afloat. [link to townies we got your back]

What about getting in my car for a scenic drive ?

NOT ESSENTIAL – go for a local walk.  If you are farming it is a gift that you have space that others do not.

When anyone does this they 

• use fuel (ignoring electric vehicles for the moment) , 
• need to fill the tank 
• will touch things that others have touched 
• will expose them and their “bubble” to higher risk.

If you have an accident (by definition something you have not planned for) 

• you take resources away from the fight against this pandemic.
• You expose volunteers (first respondents like vol. fire brigade) and medical professionals to your “bubble” that puts them at risk
• You remove resources from the health system that is likely to be stretched.

Our tag line is “safety in the field”.  Our unofficial tag line – that has motivated us through inception of the company and through last few years is  “don’t be a dick”.

Let us – as farmers – consolidate with the rest of the country, carry them through these tough economic times and take on the mantra “don’t be a dick”.

See our home page for link to the govt web site.  All our templates on the portal refer to this as it is the only source of information that is updated routinely and comprehensively.

You are not alone.

Note: this rant is the response of our CEO to individuals who seem to think that this is a drill.  Our CEO has experience in managing a Microbiology Lab, supply chain and Dairy Factory.  The misinformation about the latest controls on farming etc are worrying to the team at Orange Cross as we know failure to get this right now may mean a longer lock down - which is detrimental to all NZers especially farmers.