PENDLETON — While the global spread of the coronavirus hasn’t spared the agricultural industry, some Eastern Oregon growers are learning that their work is resilient.

Northeast Oregon is one of the state’s top agricultural producers, from wheat to potatoes to watermelons to apples to wine grapes. In an international economy, COVID-19 has disrupted supply chains and access to markets.

But according to Amanda Hoey, the CEO of the Oregon Wheat Commission and the Pendleton-based Oregon Wheat Growers League, wheat farmers have still been able to do business during the pandemic.

While thousands of acres of land in Umatilla and Morrow counties are covered in wheat fields, most of that grain doesn’t stay in the Northwest once it’s harvested. Instead, the wheat is mainly exported to countries throughout Asia, with the Philippines, South Korea and Japan being some of the region’s top importers.

Throughout the pandemic, Hoey said farmers were able to still sell their goods to those markets without too much in the way of impediment.

“We haven’t had any interruptions,” she said.

Better yet, Hoey said wheat farmers were recently added to the types of agricultural producers eligible for federal aid. With the pandemic still ongoing, Hoey said the league will continue to work with its national affiliate, U.S. Wheat Associates, to ensure the wheat industry keeps running smoothly.

Other farms are finding ways to adjust to the new reality.

Threemile Canyon Farms encompasses 93,000 acres near Boardman, operating a dairy in addition to farming potatoes, onions, corn, carrots, peas and more.

The size of the farm and its variety of products means its a year-round operation, employing 350 full-time workers and another 150 part-time workers. Farmworkers have been especially vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19 and Threemile Canyon hasn’t been exempt. In an October interview, Threemile Canyon General Manager Marty Myers said the farm has 33 confirmed cases of COVID-19, although he attributed the spread to off-hour gatherings rather than working conditions.

Myers said Threemile Canyon has taken a number of precautions to try to slow the spread of the virus, including mandatory mask-wearing while employees are working, socially distant outdoor break areas and reduced capacity in employee transportation and housing. At the outset of the pandemic, the farm expanded its sick leave policy by 10 days to encourage workers to stay home if they’re sick, a policy that has cost the company $200,000 so far, according to Myers.

Farmworkers across the state are taking notice of the changing working conditions. An ongoing survey of farmworkers conducted by Oregon universities and farmworker advocacy organizations found that although a majority of workers reported receiving COVID-19 training, saw their coworkers wearing masks at all times and washed their hands at least five times per day during the workday, nearly two in five workers said they encountered moments in the day when they couldn’t socially distance.

The agriculture industry just isn’t farms, but also the constellation of businesses and organizations that help support them.

Farmers across Umatilla County rely on the studies and research done by the Oregon State University Extension Service through its Hermiston Agriculture and Research and Extension Center and the Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center near Pendleton to help them produce strong crop yields.

Clive Kaiser, HAREC’s interim director, said the pandemic hasn’t slowed down his facility’s operations too much.

Kaiser estimated 95-98% of the HAREC’s breeding trials were able to continue even as the pandemic set in. OSU employees have even resumed fieldwork after the initial lockdown provided its outside and it follows social distancing procedures.