The COVID pandemic has changed how we do many day-to-day things. We can’t go anywhere without being asked to wear a mask, and a night on the town may be a burger from a fast-food joint while sitting in your vehicle in the parking lot.
Many of us had a round of “telecommuting” in the spring. I joke that I always wanted to be a stay-at-home dog mom, but after a couple of months of not seeing anyone but the dog and the old cat all day, every day made me a little stir crazy. A trip to the gas station in Conway, Mo., for a large fountain drink of Diet Coke was a great adventure. I think the dog and cat even got tired of me being at home. When I got “the call” to go back to the office, my computer, phone and other items were packed and loaded. I needed to get back on the road and back to a routine.
I’m thankful I don’t have kids living at home to worry about balancing my job with making sure they get their at-home lessons completed. I don’t know how working parents do it, so kudos to those who are making it through.
The COVID panic caused a great deal of uncertainty in our markets, and there were claims of “shortages” of meat and other food products. Food pantries across the country saw more assistance requests, and limits were placed on products like milk and eggs. Meanwhile, producers and feedyards were holding animals with nowhere to go, buyers weren’t buying more cattle, milk was dumped, and poultry and swine barns were depopulated, thanks to the shutdown of processing facilities in the wake of the pandemic.
Suddenly, consumers started to realize they may have to look elsewhere for food. Farmers and ranchers became the good guys, not the scoundrels they are often portrayed as in the mainstream media and by anti-agriculture activists.
Consumers have long taken farmers and ranchers for granted, and the thought of there not being food in the grocery store has been somewhat of a blessing to some in the agricultural industry. Panicked people who never thought about purchasing directly from farmers were getting on social media pages and websites looking for meat, milk and eggs, or animals to process. I have talked with several producers who offer meat and other products from their farms, and they are still working hard to keep up with consumer demand.
There has been a tremendous boom for local meat processors. Most are booked through sometime next year. There have been federal funds allocated in the region for inspected and custom processing facilities to increase processing capabilities – great news for those business owners.
With the outbreak of COVID, millions of people had time on their hands and wanted to grow a garden and learn food preservation. It’s a good thing I have a bunch of canning jars I have saved over the years, and I tend to hoard rings and flats when I see them on clearance, so I had enough to get my few batches sealed up.
I think, and hope, the “food shortage” is behind us. According to the Food and Drug Administration, inventory reduction is because more people looking to buy in bulk and stock up, not because of an actual food chain shortage.
Things are maybe returning to “normal” on the food front, but I hope consumers remember the lessons from earlier this year. Perhaps they will remember that farmers, not grocery stores, are the ones who feed the world.
Julie Turner-Crawford is a native of Dallas County, Mo., where she grew up on her family’s farm. She is a graduate of Missouri State University. To contact Julie, call 1-866-532-1960 or by email at [email protected].
