Vegetable growers in the Northeast experienced significant draught in 2020, which is continuing through 2021. Growers selling to foodservice markets had to adjust their marketing, but those selling to grocery stores or direct-to-consumer have seen good sales. Like other agricultural commodities, vegetable demand has shifted but is still strong.
The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program was designed to help compensate farmers for the market disruptions that occurred in the early stages of COVID-19. Read about the program and two notable exceptions for Northeast apple and potato growers.
Farm Credit East recently hosted a webinar featuring a panel of experts to discuss the Northeast's fruit and vegetables industries, and how COVID-19 has impacted markets. This post summarizes their discussion on a multitude of topics, including supply and demand, consumer preferences, costs, marketing and labor challenges, as well as future outlook predictions.
On April 17, the USDA unveiled details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program for agriculture, which includes $16 billion in direct support to agricultural producers and $3 billion to purchase and distribute agriculture products to Americans in need. Read a summary of these two main components.
