Not surprisingly, a majority of retailers indicated that it was more difficult to fill and maintain front line staffing this season due to Covid-19, although only 1 in 5 strongly agreed.

Given the requirement for social distancing in many regions of the country during the heart of the planting season, we expected that more farmers would embrace digital communication with trusted advisers, and that definitely was the case in the survey. Nearly two-thirds of respondents agreed that “significantly more farmers” were tied into digital communication and information exchange as a consequence of Covid.

We were a little bit surprised by responses to our statement about use of e-commerce options for inputs by growers. About six in 10 retailers disagreed with the notion that farmer-customers used e-commerce websites for purchases this season.

Slightly more than half of respondents indicated that they expect disruptions in crop protection product availability for the 2021 season due to repercussion from the Covid pandemic.

A solid two-thirds of respondents did not feel that there would be any disruption in the availability of their hybrids and varieties of choice next season.

Whether it’s an indication of the certainty of two perspectives, or everyone’s relative uncertainty, the respondents were split 50-50 on whether the impact of social distancing on farmer relationships will endure in 2021.

With so many events and seminars choosing to carry on in a virtual way, it’s not surprising that three-fourths of respondents have attended a virtual event.

Virtual event value showed up fairly strong, with nearly 4 in 10 saying they deliver the same or more value than a live event. But more than 62% indicated that they deliver less value than the live alternative.