Calling all BC Farmers: How can we help? COVID-19 Response ...€¦ · The biggest concern for farmers right now is financial, especially around lack or loss of sales revenuewith

Calling all BC Farmers: How can we help?COVID-19 Response Report APRIL 1, 2020

INTRODUCTIONOn March 18, 2020, FarmFolk CityFolk (FFCF) circulated a short survey to BC farmers with the goal of getting a quick snapshot of the impacts farmers1 are seeing due to the COVID-19 crisis, asking four questions:

• Howisyourfarmbusinessbeingimpactedrightnow? •Whatimpactsdoyouanticipatethisyear? • Whatsupportdoyouneedrightnow? •Whatsupportdoyouanticipateneedingthisyear?

The survey was circulated via the FFCF newsletter list, social media channels, and via partner organizations. 96responseswerereceivedoverthecourseof6days.ThedatahasbeencodedandreviewedbytheKPUInstituteforSustainableFoodSystems.Quotesincludedaredirectlyfromsurveyresponses,andwhilewehavecollectednamesandcontactinfoforspecificfollowup,areusedanonymouslyhere.

Theglobalsituationismovingincrediblyfast,andsomeofthethemesthatemergedherehavealreadybeenaddressedbyfastactingprovincialandfederalgovernments.Wehopethisreportwillhelppersonalizetheissues,andidentifysomequestionsforfurtherexplorationandnextstepsthatgovernmentandnonprofitscantake.

1 Whenweusetheterm‘farmers’inthisreport,itreferstofarmerswhorespondedtothissurvey.

WHY WE CARE

Theglobalpandemicisawakeupcallforallofus,aboutwhatistrulyimportant:greatpeopleandgreatfood.Whiletoiletpaperhoardinghas hit the media, folks are also stocking up onseeds,fillingtheirfreezerswithprotein,andplantinggardens.It’simpossiblenottothinkaboutwhereyourfoodcomesfromattimeslike these, and want to have some control over your supplies.

Ourglobalfoodsystemisvulnerabletoeconomic, environmental, and social crises of all shapes and sizes. Food can travel thousandsofmiles,acrossmultipleborders,and pass through the hands of dozens of peoplebeforelandingonourplates.Nowisthetimetobeaskingourselveshowdowecreate a resilient, local food system where producers and eaters can easily withstand disturbanceandchange?Thisreportisonesmall step in that direction.

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SUMMARY OF SURVEY RESULTSBC farmers are seeing a range of impacts to the COVID-19 crisis, and need a range of supports. Four key themesemergedfromthesurveyresponsesincluding:financialconsiderations,labour,accessingandfindingsaleschannelsandcommunicationscampaign.Summaryofeachthemeisdiscussedbelow.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONSThebiggestconcernforfarmersrightnowisfinancial,especiallyaroundlackorlossofsalesrevenuewith 47%ofrespondentsindicatingimmediatelosses,and73%fearinglosseslaterthisyear.While11%ofrespondents indicated a mild or no impact on their sales right away, this is primarily as it is early in the seasonandfieldsare“stillcoveredinsnow”andthey“don’thaveanythingtoselltilllateAprilorMay.”Withrestaurantsbeingclosed,eventscancelled,andlossofvisitorstofarmsalessites,theimpactsformanyareimmediate and extreme.

Withrestaurantsclosing,onefarmer“wentfrom90clientsto4inlessthanaweek.”Anotherindicatedthat“withSeedySaturdayscancelled,[Iimmediately]lostthousandsofdollarsinincome.”

Requestsforimmediateandlongtermfinancialsupportincludeincomesupport,mortgageandrentdeferralandcancellation,accesstocreditandlow/nointerestloans,andsupporttobuymaterials.Someofthesesupportsarebeingdevelopedandimplementedbyfastmovinggovernmentsdaily.

Asmallernumberofrespondentsindicatedtheiroperationshadcompletelyclosedfortheyear.Oneinparticularnoted“thelandowneristakingsuchsevereprecautionshehasquarantinedthepropertyandsoIamunabletocontinuethefarm.”

Onthecontrary,10%ofrespondentsindicatedanincreaseindemandandsales.SeveralfarmersobservedthattheyhadaquickincreaseinCSAandotherdirecttocustomersales.Onerespondentsaid“wearesoldoutofbeefandourseedsaresellingliketoiletpaper.”Thosewhoalreadyhadthesesaleschannelsbuiltintotheirbusinessmodelsaremoreresilient.

LABOURAsignificantconcernforfarmers,asofthedatethissurveywasdistributedandthistimeofyear,isaroundlackoflabourwhentheborderclosed,with14%indicatingthisasanimmediateconcernand28%lookingaheadwithworrytotheyear.Asofthiswriting,thefederalgovernmenthasalreadymadeprovisionstoallowfarm workers into Canada.

ACCESSING AND FINDING SALES CHANNELSWiththeimmediateandyearlonglossofsaleschannelssuchasrestaurants,farmershaveaskedfora range ofsupportincludinghelpsettingupandmarketingCommunitySupportedAgriculture(CSA)Programs,andsetting up online sales channels.

Community Supported Agriculture Onerespondentindicatedtheybelieve“peoplearesigningupforCSAsoutoffear.”Whateverthe reason, CSAsprovidefarmerswithaguaranteedincomewhentheyneeditmost,atthestartoftheyear.Onefarmerindicatedthey“startedaCSAwhichisnotoneofourusualmarketstreams.Ifwecanfindenoughmembers,we’llbeokay.”Helpingfarmerssetup,manage,andmarketaCSAwouldbeagreatsupport.

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Severalrespondentsrealizedfarmersarenottheonlyonestobeimpactedbythisglobalhealthcrisis,andareexploringdoingaweeklypaidCSAbox,ratherthanthetraditionalmodelofpayinginfullatthestartoftheseason.3%ofrespondentsalsohopedforagovernmentsubsidyforCSAstohelpbotheatersandfarmersatthesametime,andsaid“Iexpecthighdemandforthenext2-3weeksthenahugedropindemandastheincomeofourcustomersbecomedependentonEI.Therewillbefarlessincometospendonourproducts.”This is worth looking into further as a win-win for folks facing reduced income, and as a way to get secure funds to farmers for the season.

Online Sales Channels28% of respondents indicated a desire for immediate help with a range of communications and marketing support,and30%indicatedaneedforaccessingandfindingmarketsandsalesoutlets.Eachfarmseesthisdifferently,withspecificrequestsrangingfromhelpsettinguponlinesaleschannelsandCSAs,tomoregeneralrequestsfor‘increasingclientele’.Onerespondentaskedfor“onlinesalessupport,deliveryservices,a way to get goods to market, some way to show municipalities/regional districts/etc that farmers markets andlocalfarmersarekeytofoodsecurityandneedsbasedineachcommunity.”

Thereisclearlynoonesizefitsallsolution,andonlinesalesandmarketingchannelswilllookdifferentforeachcommunityandstyleoffarming.Withincreasedphysicaldistancingmeasures,exploringonlinesalesplatformsisanobviouschoice.Itisalsoimportanttonotethatthese“arefarmersnotwebdesignersandthelearningcurvewillbesteep.”

COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGNAtleast16%ofrespondentsaskedforsupportdoingpubliceducationaroundlocalfoodinaddition to supportinadvertisingtheirspecificproductsandonenoted“itwouldbeamazingifthissituationcouldbeleveragedintoevenstrongersocietalawarenessandsupportforBCgrowersandproducers!”Specificcommentsrangedfromrequeststohelpinspirestrongconsumerconfidenceforfoodsafety,forexample“newsarticlesthatproduceissafe,andfarmersusefoodsafetystandards”to“marketingfortheseasontoencouragelocalfoodbuyingandpreserving.”

OTHER THEMESTherewerearangeofotherthemesidentifiedintheresults,andareworthmentioninghere.Supportfor mentalhealthwasmentionedby4%ofrespondents,asthisisgoingtobeatoughyearforthem.Onepersonextendedthistophysicalhealth,saying“ICANNOTgetsick,anddonothaveaccesstohealthservicestoassistmeincaringformybody.”

Multiplefarmers(8%)wonderediftheyshouldbestockinguponsupplies,duetouncertaintyaboutsupplychainslaterintheyear,withonesaying“I’malsonotsurehowit’sgoingtobeaccessingsupplies(Soilamendments,irrigationparts,constructionmaterialstorebuildmygreenhousethatcollapsedthiswinter,etc).Thisplacesanadditionalfinancialburdenearlyintheseasonbeforerevenuesstartcomingin.

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NEXT STEPS AND QUESTIONSThis is a high level summary of the major themes that emerged in a quick survey. Overall, in our small farmer community there is a lot of uncertainty, as there is in all of society right now. The additional challenge for farmersisthetimingofthefarmseasonandtheneedtolookahead.Wefullybelievethathavingalocal,resilientfoodsystemismoreimportantnowthaneverbefore,andwilldoeverythinginourpowertohelpmake that happen.

WhatisbecomingmorecleardailyisthattheworldwillnevergobacktothewayitwasbeforeCOVID-19.Itisatimeforusalltothinkhardaboutwhatistrulyimportantandwhatwewillprioritizenowandinthefuture.Federalandprovincialgovernments,andnon-profitsaretakingquickactiontosupportfarmersandsmallbusinessownersdaily,includinggettingfarmersmarketsdesignatedasessentialservices,developingonlinesaleschannelsforfarmersmarketmembers,anddevelopingzerointerestloanprogramsandgrantprogramswhichwillrespondtomanyoftheconcernsoutlinedabove.

Atthesametime,itisessentialthatwelookahead.Howdowecreatearesilient,localfoodsystemwhereproducersandeaterscaneasilywithstanddisturbanceandchange?Answeringthisquestionwilltakecollaborativeefforts.Onerespondentsaid“Thispandemicunderlinestheneedforregionalfoodsufficiency.Thatis,increasingaregion’sabilitytogrowitsownfood.Nowistheobvioustimetoadvocatethatthegovernment,forthefirsttimeinmemory,directlyprovidefinancialsupport(especiallyinfrastructure)forsmall to medium size farms. This is where our food needs to come from and we are lucky at this point these farmershaveallnotquitalready.Wecanusethisdifficultsituationasanopportunitytogetinfrastructure(eggreenhouses,ponds,machinery)inplacesotheycanproducemore.”Anothersaid,“I’mplantingthesameamountoffood,ifnotmore.Ijusthopepeoplewillbeabletobuyit.Ineedlocalgovernmenttobeabletohelpfolksbuyfreshlocalfood.”

In the short term, at FFCF, we plan to: • Sharetheresultsofthissurveyaswidelyasfeasibleandappropriate,lettinggovernments, partnerorganizations,media,andeatersknowthatBCfarmersbothneedourhelp,andare here to help us all stay nourished • BuildonourpopularlistingofCSAprograms,bothinvitingfarmerstoregisterand directing eaters to it. www.farmfolkcityfolk.ca/knowledge-pantry/csa • Buildandamplifypowerfulbuylocalmessaging

New projects we are exploring: • Developingasubsidyprogramforlow-incomeeaterstoaccesslocalfoodviaCSAs,which wouldbothcreatesecuredemandforlocalproductsforfarmerstohavetheconfidenceto increasetheirproductioninthespringplantingseason,andsupportfolkswhomaybe facing lower incomes in accessing local food • Creatingaseriesofwebinarstotrainfarmerstomovetoonlinesalesplatformsandconnectthem with eaters • Othercreativeandsafedirecttoconsumersaleschannelsforsmallfarmers

Wearereadytodoeverythingwecantohelpfarmersandeatersthriveduringthistime,andbelievethatacollaborativeapproachisabsolutelynecessary.Weareavailableforfurtherdiscussionatanytime.

Formoreinformationortodiscusscollaborativenextsteps,pleasecontactAnitaGeorgy,[email protected].

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REPORTING METHODOLOGYAsthequestionswereopen-ended,farmershadthe opportunity to provide unique responses to the survey, meaning the data generated was all qualitativeinnature.AresearchassistantatISFS,usingacodingsoftwareknownasAtlas.ti,identifiedunique themes for each response, to generate a quantitative analysis of the survey.Eachresponsewasreviewedandtaggedwithmultiplesub-andhigher-orderthemestoreflectthewayinwhichfarmerswerebeingimpactedbythecrisis.Sub-themessuchas‘ClosedRestaurants’and‘Marketclosure’,reflectamoredetailedbreakdownofaresponse,whilehigher-orderthemes,suchas‘LackorLossofSales/Revenue’,highlightconnectionsbetweensub-themes,andthewayinwhichfarmersarebeingimpactedandneedsupportmorebroadly.Sub-themescanbefoundwithintablesthathavebeengroupedarounda higher-order theme.Due to the fact that responses were open-ended, mostfarmersidentifiedmultiplewaysinwhichtheywerebeingimpacted,orneededsupport,meaningthattherewereoftenmultiplesub-themesthatfellunder a higher-order theme within a response. For thisreason,thetallyatthebottomofeachtableisanaggregateofthetotalnumberofrespondentsthat mentioned something related to a higher-order theme,suchas‘LackorLossofSales/Revenue’,ratherthanatallyofthetotalnumberofsub-themes mentioned. This provides a more accurate representationofthetotalnumberofresponsesrelated to a particular higher-order theme, rather thanthetotalnumberofsub-themesrelatedtothathigher-orderthemeidentifiedoverall.The graphs depict all the higher-order themes that wereidentifiedinthesurveyresponsesandthetotalpercentageofrespondentsthatidentifiedeachhigher-order theme in particular.

Themes Percentage

Lack/Loss of Sales/Revenue 47%

Uncertainty (Various) 30%

Lack/Loss of Labour 14%

MildImpact/None 11%

Increased Sales/Demand 10%

LackofSupplyAccess 8%

Travel Restrictions 6%

Sanitation/Safety 5%

NewSalesStrategies 4%

Severely Impacted 4%

A. Lack/Loss of Sales/Revenue Count Percentage

ClosedRestaurants/Hospitality 17 18%

Market closure 11 11%

Eventcancellation 9 9%

Seeds/Seedlings 8 8%

Wholesale 4 4%

LossofVisitors 3 3%

Onsite 2 2%

Commercial 1 1%

Tourism 1 1%

Total(UniqueResponses) 45 47%

B. Uncertainty (Various) Count Percentage

Market closure 14 15%

Sales 9 9%

Unspecified(General) 5 5%

Labour 4 4%

Production 4 4%

Supplies 1 1%


C. Lack/Loss of Labour Count Percentage

Lack/lossoflabour 11 11%

Lack/lossofvolunteers 2 2%


Q. 1 How is your Farm Business being impacted right now?

Further breakdown of the top ranked theme

ThisdatahasbeencodedbyaResearchAssistantattheKPUInstituteforSustainableFoodSystemsFarmFolk CityFolk 6

Percentage-ThemesIdentified

Num

bero

fRespo

ndents(%

)

47%

30%

14%11% 10%

8%6% 5% 4% 4%

Q. 2 What impacts do you anticipate this year?


ThisdatahasbeencodedbyaResearchAssistantattheKPUInstituteforSustainableFoodSystems FarmFolk CityFolk 7

A. Lack/Loss of Sales/Revenue Count Percentage

Lack/lossofSales/Revenue/Income 38 40%

Market Closure/Sales 28 29%

Restaurant Closures/Sales 7 7%

Other 6 6%

Eventscancelled 3 3%

Future investements/upgrades 3 3%

Lossofvisitors 3 3%

Cash Flow 2 2%

Lossofwholesale 2 2%

Lowerprices/RateofReturn 2 2%

Challenges-Payingbills/loans 2 2%


B. Loss of Labor Count Percentage

LossofVolunteers/Labor 19 20%

Providingwork/Layoffs 7 7%

More work 3 3%

Unpaidlabor 1 1%


C. Adapting Sales Strategy Count Percentage

Howtosellproduce/findbuyers 17 18%

Delivery 2 2%

Sales outlets 4 4%

IncreaseCSA 1 1%

Online-sales 1 1%


Otherincluding:IncreasedCosts,Cancelledworkshops,Tourism,Lossofharvest,Tours,Supportingfamily

Themes Percentage

Lack/LossofSales/Revenue 73%

LossofLabor 28%

AdaptingSalesStrategy 24%

IncreasedDemand/Sales/Labor 16%

Accesstosupplies/seeds/feed 15%

Harvest/ProductionRelated 11%

Illness/Sanitation 8%

Uncertain 8%

Financial/Operational Closure/Collapse 7%

Issues Delivering 5%

Publicperception-Fear 4%

NoImpact 3%


Num

bero

fRespo

ndents(%

)

73%

28%24%

16% 15%11% 8% 8% 7% 5% 4% 3%

Q. 3 What support do you need right now?



Themes Percentage

Financial Support 28%

Communication/Marketing Support 28%

NoImmediateSupport 21%

ProvidingMoreInformationResources 19%

Sales 9%

LaborRelated 8%

Accesstosupplies 8%

Emotional/Mental 3%

DesignateFarmsasEssentialServices 2%

A. Financial Support Count Percentage

Income support 15 16%

Mortgage/rent deferment/cancellation 5 5%

Accesstocredit/lowerinterestrate 4 4%

Materials 2 2%

Low-incomesubsidy(CSA-Farmbox) 3 3%

Wagesubsidy 2 2%

Infrastructure 1 1%

Taxes/farm status 1 1%

Healthcoverage 1 1%


B. Communication/Marketing Support Count Percentage

Online sales/services Support 11 11%

LocalFood 6 6%

CSAProgram 5 5%

Increasing clientele 4 4%

Publicsupport/awareness 4 4%

Farmer communication forum/platform 2 2%


C. No Immediate Support Count Percentage

None 8 8%

Notyet 7 7%

Unsure 5 5%



Num

bero

fRespo

ndents(%

)

28% 28%

21%19%

9% 8% 8%

3% 2%

Q. 4 What support do you anticipate needing this year?

Themes Percentage

Financial 51%

Accessing/FindingMarkets/Salesoutlets 30%

Marketing/Communication 26%

Uncertain 19%

Information 9%

AccesstoSupplies/Services/Inputs 8%

Laboraccess/support 7%

None 4%

MentalHealthsupport 2%

A. Financial Count Percentage

Income support 36 38%

IncomeSupport-Labor 7 7%

Interest Free/Credit Support 4 4%

Income support - Infrastructure/facilities 3 3%

Incomesupport-Healthcoverage 1 1%

Incomesupport-Leasepayments 1 1%


B. Accessing/Finding Markets/Sales outlets Count Percentage

Accessingnewmarkets/salesoutlets/clientele 18 19%

Online setup/support 8 8%

Current Farmers Markets 6 6%

Distribution 3 3%

Processing 2 2%

Restaurants 1 1%


C. Marketing/Communication Count Percentage

Publiceducation-Localfood 16 16%

Online setup/support 8 8%

Marketing/Communication-CSA/Farmgate 4 4%



Num

bero

fRespo

ndents(%

)

51%

30%26%

19%

9% 8% 7%4% 2%



Documents

Calling all BC Farmers: How can we help? COVID-19 Response ...€¦ · The biggest concern for farmers right now is financial, especially around lack or loss of sales revenuewith