{"id":4991,"date":"2021-03-30T11:09:53","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T15:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/?page_id=4991"},"modified":"2021-04-09T08:50:19","modified_gmt":"2021-04-09T12:50:19","slug":"farmer-survey-3","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/maine-farmer-resource-network\/covid-19\/farmer-survey-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Results from the third COVID-19 Farmer Survey"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Maine farm community was faced with endless uncertainty. Questions about the stability of markets for the season, how much product to plant and plan for, the safety of farm families and crews, and availability of supplies for packaging products and keeping workers safe were all unanswerable and causing significant stress. In an attempt to quantify the shifts that were happening among Maine Farms, to gather data on market trends from the farm gate perspective, and to gather data related to hurdles and stressors of Maine farms, a sub-committee of the Maine Farmer Resource Network formed to develop, distribute, and analyze the Maine Farmer COVID-19 Impacts Survey. Three rounds of this survey were released to gauge trends throughout the season, in early April, early May, and late September. Those results are summarized here.<\/p>\n

September 11 to October 2, 2020: 79 Farms<\/h3>\n

The following is the data analysis from the third <\/b>Covid-19 Maine Farmer Survey<\/b>, hosted by the Beginning Farmer Resource Network of Maine, which received 69 responses from September 11 – October 2, 2020. Some of these farmers responded to the previous survey while some are first-time respondents. <\/b>(See <\/em>FIRST COVID-19 Maine Farmer Survey Data Analysis<\/a> (179 responses) and <\/em>SECOND COVID-19 Maine Farmer Survey Data Analysis<\/a> (79 responses) for additional data results.)<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n

Data was analyzed for themes by Bo Dennis of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners
\nAssociation, Jason Lilley of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and Catherine Durkin of Maine Farmland Trust.<\/p>\n

They can be contacted at:<\/p>\n

Bdennis@mofga.org<\/a>
\njason.lilley@maine.edu<\/a>
\ncatherine@mainefarmlandtrust.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Who Responded<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Survey results from September 11 – October 2, 2020<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/caption>\n

County<\/th>\nNumber of Respondents per County<\/th>\nNumber of Respondents per Region<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Androscoggin<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nS. Maine
\n23<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cumberland<\/td>\n13<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
York<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sagadahoc<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Franklin<\/td>\n0<\/td>\nW. Mountains
\n8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oxford<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Somerset<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kennebec<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nCentral \/ Mid-Coast
\n21<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Knox<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lincoln<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Waldo<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hancock<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nDown East
\n7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Washington<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aroostook<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nCentral \/ Northern
\n10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Penobscot<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Piscataquis<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TOTAL<\/strong><\/td>\n69<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Chart<\/a><\/p>\n

Market channel shifts<\/h3>\n

Sales channels prior to COVID-19<\/h4>\n

\"Chart<\/a><\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> The percentage noted after the marketing types denotes the percentage of respondents who are using that marketing strategy. Most respondents noted several sales channels.<\/p>\n

Loss of sales channels<\/h4>\n

\"Chart<\/a><\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> The percentage noted after the marketing type denotes the percentage of respondents who expressed a loss of that marketing strategy. Many respondents noted losses of more than one sales channel. Note that 88% of survey respondents marketed directly prior to March.<\/p>\n

One respondent noted the loss of \u201cparts of markets: restaurants but not grocery stores. We lost institutions in March but (they came) back in September.\u201d Another highlighted the disruption to on-line sales and \u201cshipping due to postal service irregularities (and the) attenuated supply chain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shifts to new sales channels<\/h4>\n

\"Chart<\/a><\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> The percentage noted after the marketing type denotes the percentage of respondents who have shifted to that marketing strategy. Many respondents noted the addition of more than one sales channel as a result of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

One farm noted the difficulty of integrating an on-line system due to their slow internet speeds, and the negative impact that has on keeping a live inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Intent to Stay with Market Shifts Moving Forward
\n<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/caption>\n

<\/th>\nYes<\/th>\nNo<\/th>\nMaybe<\/th>\n% Keeping Changes to Specific Market Types (Yes)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Online Sales<\/td>\n13<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n65%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Direct Markets<\/td>\n11<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n69%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wholesale<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n88%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Collaborative Marketing<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n83%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Financial Impacts<\/h3>\n

Changes in Revenue<\/h4>\n

\"Piechart<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Chart<\/a><\/p>\n

Changes in Gross Sales Amounts<\/h4>\n

The following are expressed as a percentage of last season\u2019s gross sales as of August 31. ((To date 2020 sales\/ to-date 2019 sales) x 100):<\/p>\n