Contingency Plans Can Help In Event Of Illness
K-State specialists outline tools available for farm and other businesses.
Suppose a small business owner — grocer, farmer or other — gets sick or is called out of state to help with a family emergency. If a friend offers to step in and help with the day-to-day work, would they have the information they need to keep the business going?
A team of Kansas State University (K-State) Research and Extension specialists has identified resources that can help make gathering that information easier.
“As we got together during this COVID-19 crisis, we got to thinking about what our farm businesses, rural businesses and families need right now,” says Robin Reid, extension associate in agricultural economics. She explains the team she’s part of typically works in succession planning, but realized that there’s also a need for contingency planning in businesses across the state.
“It’s a good time to think about, ‘If I did get sick, or one of my employees got sick, how would we continue our operation?’ That’s what contingency planning is all about, making sure the business can continue.”
“Really, having a good contingency plan in place is vital at any time, no matter the circumstances. We’re just in a different time right now with this pandemic,” Reid says. “It’s a good time to think about, ‘If I did get sick, or one of my employees got sick, how would we continue our operation?’ That’s what contingency planning is all about, making sure the business can continue.”
Farm continuity
For farm continuity planning, Reid recommends a tool developed by a Purdue University team, called Code Red, an Excel spreadsheet that’s free to download. It offers a structure for gathering critical personal and farm business information.
In the event of a crisis, Reid says, a family member or someone else in the position of carrying on the business would have much of what they need, information-wise, in one place, including a non-farm personal inventory, farm assets, personal and business contacts, and employee information.
For more specific day-to-day information, Alysa Rippe-May, extension agent in the Twin Creeks District, developed a farm chore inventory worksheet, including what livestock a farmer might have, where they’re located and what their daily needs are.
Family records
Another resource for individuals and families is Our Valuable Records, which provides an easy-to-complete form to help gather such information as names and contact information for your accountant or lawyer, says Robin Eubank-Callis, family and consumer science extension agent in Barber County. Plus, there’s space for a list of property you own and accounts, including passwords.
“The great thing is that you can just fill in as little or as much as you want in terms of what’s relevant to your family,” she says.
Business continuity
In her role as an extension community vitality specialist, Nadine Sigle works with communities across northwest Kansas to improve their capacity and increase sustainability. She recommends the Business Continuity Plan available at Ready.gov/business.
In addition, the Small Business Administration recommends business owners write a desktop plan of operation, including a desktop standard operating procedure — the things you’d do on a normal day in your business. That would include where things are located, different actions that would need to be taken, where you bank, and a list of your vendors and creditors.
“Now is a really good time for us to stop and put these records into place,” Sigle says.
An interview on this topic aired recently on the radio program, Agriculture Today, and is available at https://bit.ly/3famHgD at the 12:56 mark.
Editor’s note: Mary Lou Peter is a communications specialist, news writer and editor with the K-State Research and Extension News Media Services Unit. Photo courtesy K-State Research and Extension.
