U.S. dairy farmers are facing more than $17 billion in losses tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, but an uptick in prices and flow of federal assistance might offer relief in upcoming months.
Virginia’s dairy industry has suffered financial stress for years—now worsened as school closures have decimated demand for dairy products. The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Dairy Advisory Committee held a webinar in May to discuss current market conditions and supply chain disruptions.
Stressful times can take emotional, mental and physical tolls on farmers.
“Mental health affects your overall well-being,” said Dr. Amy Johnson during a webinar on farm stress and mental health that was sponsored by Farm Credit Knowledge Center.
The most common mental health disorders are anxiety and depression, shared Johnson, a nurse practitioner with Centra Medical Group, farmer and Bedford County Farm Bureau president.
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Mitigation measures to control the spread of COVID-19 have disrupted normal livestock marketing channels and supply chains, and economists say it will get worse before it gets better.
During a Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Livestock Advisory Committee webinar in May, Michael Nepveux offered a national perspective on livestock markets and meat supply chain issues. Nepveux, an American Farm Bureau Federation economist, said restaurant closings have lowered the demand for livestock products, as Americans normally spend about 54% of their food dollars away from home. Consumer purchases of takeout and fast food have not made up for the loss.
After an unusually cool, wet spring, this week’s summer heat was a welcome change for Southeast Virginia farmers, whose small grains need warmer weather to thrive.
“It’s been a really peculiar year from a weather perspective,” noted Robert Harper, grain marketing manager for Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. “March was really warm and felt like April. April was really cool and felt like March. And May turned out to be really cool and wet as well. Fortunately, farmers have had windows in the weather we’ve experienced when they could apply protectants and plant in a very timely manner this year. We’ve also had really good windows for producers to make grass hay.”
Jay Yankey typically advertises when he has half and whole beef cattle for sale, but this year he didn’t have to.
“I had to scramble to make sure my regular customers were taken care of,” said Yankey, owner of Yankey Farms in Prince William County, which typically sells 12 to 20 steers each year. “I didn’t even mention I had any [beef for sale] to anyone, but people found me out by word of mouth, and it was all spoken for very quickly.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain interruptions and consumers supporting local businesses, people are relying more on local farmers instead of grocery stores to stock their freezers.
FSA will host CFAP webinars addressing program basics and resources available for producers.
These webinars will be recorded and made available online after each live event.
The first webinar, Coronavirus Food Assistance Program Stakeholder Webinar, will take place on Fri, Jun 5, at 3 p.m. ET and is intended only for stakeholder organizations that serve farmers and ranchers.
In response to ongoing challenges from COVID-19, CDC & USDA have issued interim guidance for agriculture workers and employers. The newly released guidance states that workers on farms, ranches, and other production agriculture work sites are considered critical infrastructure workers within the food and agriculture sector. The guidance urges all agriculture work sites to follow to the extent feasible, relevant aspects of CDC guidance. Key points are listed below, or you can click here for the full guidance, resources, and more information on the CDC website. Continue reading
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A battle over a farmer’s right to use and care for his own land is one step closer to being resolved. A determination by the director of USDA’s National Appeals Division admonishes the Natural Resources Conservation Service for failing to obey its own rules, favoring a farmer who battled NRCS for more than a decade. The decision is a welcome signal that concerns from across the countryside about NRCS conservation compliance are being heard.
