December 2, 2020
2020 Brought Opportunities and Challenges to Agricultural Retail Operations
Contents
Volume 14, Issue 12
December 2020
Click here for a PDF version of this month's issue.
2020 Brought Opportunities and Challenges to Agricultural Retail Operations
It’s been a roller coaster year for agricultural retail businesses throughout the country. 2020 began with a great deal of uncertainty and concern, as extensive shutdowns occurred following the emergence of COVID-19 in the United States. This caused many businesses, agricultural and otherwise, to lose early spring sales.
By mid-spring however, most agricultural businesses and farmers’ markets were allowed to operate, and many saw a remarkable surge in consumer demand. People came out in droves to farmers’ markets, farm stands and garden centers.
A number of factors drove this demand. As we’ve seen in recent years, people are drawn to farm stands and farmers’ markets by a desire to buy local food, to get to know the person producing their food, and to support local agriculture.
In addition, stay-at-home orders and restrictions on social activities implemented this spring, caused people to focus on improving their homes, gardening and landscaping. With many schools closed, youth sports on hold, movies, bars and live entertainment venues shuttered, agricultural retail venues have been some of the few places open for people to get out and do something. This resulted in strong consumer demand at farm stands, garden centers and nurseries.
Many agricultural retail businesses are reporting unprecedented customer interest. “People have been coming out of the woodwork,” reported one farm stand operator, “I’ve never seen anything like it.” Sales are up as much as 15 to 20 percent, year-over-year, at some businesses.
While customer traffic and sales have been strong for many direct-to-consumer agricultural businesses, it hasn’t been easy. Businesses have had to alter facilities and procedures ranging from installing barriers at checkouts, to reconfiguring sales floors, to requiring masks and social distancing by customers and staff alike. Managing employee schedules around absenteeism and staffers’ increased family obligations has also been a major challenge.
Businesses that offered delivery and curbside pickup saw robust demand for these services, but of course these come with increased costs and operational complexity. Despite very high unemployment, hiring additional staff has been challenging.
Some farms offering Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) crop shares had their best year ever but were unable to fully capitalize on increased demand due to capacity limitations. Once sold out of their production, farms were unable to gain additional sales.
Other farms, such as some pick-your-own operations, had to limit customer traffic due to COVID-19 concerns. In some cases, despite an increase in demand, they had to allow fewer customers in than usual, frustrating operators and customers alike.
This strain of increased customer demand coupled with constraints in operations and staffing has left many agricultural retail operators and managers exhausted. The next question: what will 2021 bring?
For the time being, COVID-19 does not appear to be going away. Many areas are seeing a rise in cases as everyone waits on the development and distribution of an effective vaccine. Will the dramatic surge in interest for farm stands and garden centers be sustained when other activities reopen? When the competing demands for time, such as youth sports, school activities and other entertainment options come back, will people still be as motivated to visit their local farms and garden stores? That remains an open question as we look toward the next season with uncertainty.
Editor: Chris Laughton
Contributors: Tom Cosgrove and Chris Laughton
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Tags: ag retail, local food