Goods are ready for sale and the only thing missing is a market to sell them to. Without a clear way out, many farmers are turning to direct-to-consumer operation, setting up online stores and offering boxes of locally grown products, delivered right after being picked in the field. Some supliers are even seeing success with sales to individuals, particularly with sales of meat, as big processing plants have been hit with the virus. But for most it's only an interim measure, until schools and other businesses are open again.
One major upside of this pandemic is that the outbreak came at a time, when sales aren't too high anyway. Many crops aren't fully grown yet. But if the situation doesn't improve significantly by late summer, many small farmers may lose their life's work.
