4 minute read
ARIZONA FARM & RANCH REPORT
COVID UPS AND DOWNS
ARTICLE BY: PATRICK BRAY
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The summer here in the Southwest continues to drag on, leaving many of us wondering when the monsoon will happen, or if it already did? There is one thing for certain and that is no matter how long this summer drags on or what the monsoon does bring (or doesn’t), it will rain again. A longtime Arizonan by the name of Doc Lane always reminded me of that. COVID-19 seems like a long, hot Southwest summer but with no end in sight. Numbers drop and numbers increase, and I am not sure anyone has a handle on what to do or where we are going. It’s like someone pulled the gate on the bucking chute and was told, “Just don’t let go!” This virus has touched affected people in so many ways, whether it be directly or from the fallout of decisions made by political leaders.
Agriculture was no different and the industry certainly took a hit for which no one could have be prepared. While we are not out of the COVID forest, it is important that we study and understand what we in agriculture went through and how we can better prepare ourselves for the future. Agriculture is no stranger to challenges, as many industries have food safety plans and crisis management emergency plans for disease outbreaks and other issues, but no one could have planned for losing major market outlets overnight and a shutdown of the world’s largest economy. COVID will be something that we remember for a long time, just like the effect of BSE (mad cow disease) on cattle markets and E. coli’s detrimental impact to vegetable markets and consumers. The good news is that food producers and the supply chain have recovered seemingly quickly, but it is important that the industry study, learn and understand the problems we faced during this major economic shutdown.
America has the safest, most affordable food supply in the world and as shelves ran out of toilet paper and other supplies, I can confidently say we were not going to run out of food despite short interruptions to keeping up with the abrupt increase in demand at grocery stores. We always assumed we had a resilient food supply chain and, all things considered, I would say that we do. However, what we found out is that there are a few soft spots that need to be addressed to ensure resiliency and deliverability.
At the pinnacle of the COVID crisis, assuming we are mostly past it, major outlets for our agriculture products were completely shut down, including restaurants, catering and schools. Just think of Phoenix, the 5th largest city in the nation, downtown at Monroe Avenue and 3rd Street, a location with the convention center and at least a half dozen meeting venues capable of feeding 500 people on any given night. In less than 24 hours, this was no longer a viable outlet for the sale of meat, dairy or vegetables to be consumed. Thinking further from our Arizona localities, the nationwide impact to Yuma’s vegetable market, for example, which is transported across the country to the very large food service industry, was devastating.
So, what does this tell us? Nothing new, honestly. Agriculturalists are highly efficient, produce safe, quality, and affordable food, and are able to deliver it to the consumer quickly. The downside when a market closes abruptly is the pinch and strain on the supply chains.
However, while some products did unfortunately perish during this time, there is a shining entrepreneurial spirit in the agriculture industry, causing farmers and ranchers to adapt in quickly repackaging, rebranding and redistributing agriculture’s perishable products. Several new direct-toconsumer options popped up along with new ideas to bypass value-added supply chains. While some of the solutions might be adopted indefinitely, I believe others that filled a short-term void, will become as popular as hemp and ostrich burgers.
Solutions moving forward will look different and farmers and ranchers will continue to provide a safe, quality product. Every step of the food chain must work together – from the farm and ranch all the way through to the retail store owner and restaurateur to meet the challenges of the future. After all of this COVID business is finished, rural Arizona and parts of the southwest may have a few more neighbors who are looking to escape these coronavirus hot spots and build a little more self-reliance.
The bottom line is that while markets turned upside down from price to supply and demand, the elasticity of these agriculture markets is quite great considering it wasn’t but a few months ago that many producers faced uncertainty from prices to markets and even if lending institutions would allow them to carry on. Like Doc Lane told me, it will rain again, and while we may not know when, we know that our rural lifestyle and agriculture will always push forward to provide for those great consumers that continue to buy our products.
