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Farm Estate Planning Program - for KAP Members
Farm Estate planning is a very important part of your family’s
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DIRECT FARM MARKETING
>>
Will those new customers return next year, when the
threat of coronavirus has hopefully been mitigated? That’s the
$64,000 question.
“I will be interested to see how it shakes out in a year,
whether we still have a lot of these customers,” Clouston said.
At the very least, a host of new consumers have learned how to
access direct market farm products: finding suppliers online,
paying online by credit card or e-transfer, and picking up foods
at scheduled locations.
Farm marketers are more interested in cultivating long-term
customers than short-term hoarders. One Winnipeg res-taurant
offered to purchase a farmer’s entire production, only
to be turned down. The farmer wasn’t going to short-change
long-term customers for a demand that will probably go back to
conventional suppliers a year from now.
“Some farmers are positioned to do very well,” said Veldhuis.
In addition to being a spokesperson for Direct Farm Manitoba,
he is a honey producer with 1,200 hives near Starbuck, Man. His
direct-to-customer honey sales, under the company name Phil’s
Honey, are 50 per cent ahead of last year.
“Those who already had highly organized websites for
high demand products, have in some cases basically sold out
already,” he said.
That is, many producers had already sold all their
subscriptions for their projected annual production by May.
“I’ve heard a number of farms, for the first time ever, are fully
subscribed,” he said.
While there is tremendous demand for farmer-to-consumer
meat sales, there are also huge capacity problems, particularly
with the scarcity of small, independent abattoirs. Farmers are
unable to fill demand because of slaughter capacity restrictions.
“We’re now looking at abattoirs booking well into late fall
for the next time they have an opening,” Veldhuis said back
in May.
As well, some farmers’ markets aren’t slated to open this
year due to the pandemic. For example, the Cypress River and
Red River Exhibition farmers’ markets closed down, as did one
in downtown Winnipeg. Efforts are being made to match the
many customers new to direct farm marketing with small pro-ducers
who may have lost access to farmers’ markets.
Most farmers’ markets are forging on and finding unique
ways to adapt. Produce can still be purchased under the canopy
at St. Norbert Farmers’ Market, but now customers can also buy
online and pick-up their purchase at a drive-through. Someone
will even plop it into their trunk.
There has been careful control of people going in and out
of the area covered by the canopy at St. Norbert. There are also
pop-up washing stations for the safety of both the customers
and farm-marketers.
The latest studies state the coronavirus is at its weakest
and less likely to spread outdoors. One study of 318 COVID-19
outbreaks in China showed only two were initiated outdoors.
“We’re working hard on getting some best practices togeth-er
for individual vendors to make sure that folks at the mar-ket
feel safe and don’t feel overly burdened with regulations,”
Veldhuis said, who is treasurer of the market.
Currently the St. Norbert market features just 60 per cent
of its usual vendors to comply with social distancing safety
Manitoba Farmers’ Voice § Summer 2020 § 37
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