E230: How Pandemic Connections between Farmers and Consumers Persist

COVID’s impact on American agriculture were legion, but one of the positive changes for the industry is the way it encouraged consumers —who were experiencing supply chain disruptions in empty shelves at the grocery store — to reconnect to where their food is grown. Ordinary American consumers turned to farmers markets and Facebook groups, looking to go directly to farms to buy meat, flour, and any other food or fiber product they could get their hands on. And though many of the effects of the pandemic have since waned, many of the farmers who connected with these new fans and customers continue to do so in ways that have transformed their farming operations. Today, Progressive Farmer Senior Editor Joel Reichenberger takes us behind the scenes on his cover story about how farmers continue to leverage consumer interest and connections to grow their businesses in unconventional ways. He brings us stories from across the country of farmers sharing their stories, and the stories of their crops, with their customers and communities, filling bellies and building good will in the process. Plus we’ll dig into the technology and tools these growers found useful in building new markets, the investments they’ve made, and what they see in the future as uncertain reins.