What Does 2021 Have in Store for Vegetable Growers?
When much of the country began shutting down restaurants and in-person schools in 2020, the vegetable industry faced unprecedented change.
While restaurants’ demand for vegetables plummeted, grocery stores asked its produce suppliers to ship more than they had available. Now that the end of the pandemic is in reach, how are vegetable operation owners adapting their strategies?
With the advice of several researchers from prominent ag universities, the editorial team at American Vegetable Grower developed a two-part study.
Almost 550 responded to the first part (a survey), sharing how they changed — or did not change — their production and business strategies.
28% Say the Lock Down Increased Business
We had three main sections to our survey, based on which customers crops were destined for. One question we asked all growers was to tell us which 2020 issues were the biggest ones for them.
The result was a great deal more complex than you’d think.
More than a fourth of growers reported lock-down affected customers was a positive for them. Another 13% say it was both a positive and a negative experience for them. No other issue garnered more than 6% of growers saying the same.
“Retail business was better than usual but of course our processing /food service channels were significantly affected,” one grower commented.
For more results, continue reading at GrowingProduce.com.
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