Abstract
Initial forecasts predicted severe financial losses for small and midsized farmers as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted usual market channels nationwide. Early reports both confirmed and challenged these fears, as some farmers could not find new markets while others established or expanded their direct-to-consumer sales to replace their lost outlets. To understand the impact of the pandemic on Pennsylvania farmers across the entire 2020 growing season, Chatham University and Pasa Sustainable Agriculture[1] surveyed farmers and performed interviews with a subset of these farmers. The anonymous survey was distributed by Pennsylvania-based farm organizations to their constituents, predominantly through email. Just under half the farmers (42%) reported a loss of revenue, while over half (58%) reported either no change or an increase in revenue in 2020. The scale of these changes varied greatly. We also found that vegetable farmers fared slightly better than livestock/eggs/dairy farmers; those with a higher pre-COVID revenue did better than those with a lower pre-COVID revenue; and farms that were able to increase direct-to-consumer sales maintained or increased their total revenues. Participation in state and federal relief programs varied and appeared to have no significant effect on farmers’ final 2020 revenue. Farmers’ responses to the open-ended survey questions demonstrated that the weather, a lack of infrastructure to support small and midsized producers, and consumers’ lack of support for a regional food system were major challenges before COVID. Without meaningful policy changes, these challenges will persist beyond the pandemic’s resolution.
Highlights
IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on farmers during the 2020 season
According to national headlines, the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on farmers during the 2020 season
We found that vegetable farmers fared slightly better than livestock/eggs/dairy farmers; those with a higher pre-COVID revenue did better than those with a lower pre-COVID revenue; and farms that were able to increase direct-to-consumer sales maintained or increased their total revenues
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on farmers during the 2020 season. This picture is not the full story, as many farmers made successful adaptations during the height of the pandemic by increasing direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales. The USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) review of 2020 confirmed an 11.1% increase in spending by consumers on direct purchases from farmers, manufacturers, and wholesalers (Zeballos & Sinclair, 2021). COVID-19 added to serious pre-existing issues faced by farmers. As USDA Chief Economist Robert Johansson (2021) argued, farmers were already going through financial hardships due to the challenges posed by a global food system focused on large-scale suppliers and the worsening effects of climate change when the pandemic added new challenges
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