Survey: How is COVID-19 impacting your business?

A sign listing COVID precautions for customers on a Minnesota apple orchard, September, 2020.

 

Author: Gigi DiGiacomo, Research Fellow, Department of Applied Economics 

We continue to hear from growers about ways the pandemic is affecting your daily work and livelihoods. In this unprecedented and challenging time, the value of your work has never been more evident. It is with this in mind that we ask for your assistance. The University of Minnesota and University of Wisconsin-Madison, as part of a multi-regional study funded by the USDA, have created a survey to assess and quantify the impacts of the COVID-19 on the farm and food communities in our two-state region. The survey includes questions about production, income, financing, staffing, procurement, distribution and sales. The survey results will help researchers, community groups and policymakers establish a roadmap for moving forward.

The survey should take about 20 minutes and should be completed by an owner/manager who is currently in business or who has had to shut their doors as a result of the pandemic. As a token of appreciation, survey participants will be able to opt into a drawing for a $200 gift certificate.

Click here to take the survey.

To learn more about the survey and the multi-regional project, called Lessons from COVID-19: Positioning Regional Food Supply Chains for Future Pandemics, Natural Disasters and Human-made Crises, contact Dr. Hikaru Peterson, professor in the Department of Applied Economics, hhp@umn.edu or visit the project website.