Agricultural farmers around the United States are struggling amidst the COVID-19 crisis as many worry for the future. Many farmers around the country are able to sell their products due to the massive amount of customers stocking up during the pandemic, but as that begins to slow down, so will farming. Some farmers are still able to thrive as they sell out of their own farm, but big farms along with most of the smaller ones will slowly begin to see a huge recession as the pandemic continues.
Throughout the pandemic, large farms have started to struggle as grocery stores and other big retail chains like Target and Walmart have slowed down their consistent sales of fruits and vegetables. Other farms have completely stopped as many restaurants and small businesses have completely closed their doors. The only farmers staying afloat through the pandemic are small farming businesses like the ones in Sonoma County that sell wholesale fruits and vegetables to the community.
Even dairy farmers have struggled to make sales and have had to subsequently dump thousands of gallons of milk a day as sales for product slow and time frames for holding the milk tighten. Although customer demand for dairy products such as milk and butter has risen, the sales statewide have come to a halt and with the struggle to find drivers, dairy farmers have not been able to turn a profit. A cooperative of the Wisconsin-based Foremost Farms USA stated in an interview with Reuters, “Now is the time to consider a little extra culling of the herds. We believe the ability to pick up and process your milk could be compromised.”
With the changing demand, farmers have had to change their entire logistics on selling, transporting, and processing. Farmers now must process larger portions of their product to grocery stores instead of making smaller portions for restaurants. Larger bulks of products like cheese, meat, fruits, and vegetables must be processed. With the shortage of employees, getting products out to the public has been more difficult.
While many farmers struggle, some are able to thrive during this time as meat farmers are able to sell off large stocks of cows, pigs, and chicken. Due to the ability to freeze meat for long periods of time, meat farmers have been able to supply the high demand even with the struggle of the halt in sale to restaurants. Although meat farmers are still worried as the high demand is something they will not be able to keep up with for long, they are hoping to keep sales steady.
The consensus of most large farms is that there’s definitely a worry of what exactly is to come, how long will this isolation go on for, and what exactly the future holds for farming. Some small community farmers are still able to thrive, but even they know it will not last if the pandemic keeps spreading. Farming is one of the biggest backbones of the United States not only for the economy but for feeding communities across the country. Farming is something that can make or break the future of the United States and supporting local farmers is one way to be able to help them through such a hard time.
