A spring like no other for Clarke and Sons
Depending on who you ask, it might have one of a variety of different names, but no matter whether you call it Clarke’s, the big blue store, or something else entirely, it’s undeniable that this has been an unusually busy spring for the folks at Clarke and Sons in Lennoxville.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said store owner John Crease, explaining that although spring is always a busy season for the supplier of animal feed and other farming or gardening supplies, this year’s rush started earlier and come on stronger than usual.
Asked about the differences the pandemic has wrought, Crease’s first thought was of birds.
“We sell laying hens and baby meat birds, and we’re sold out for the rest of the year,” Crease said, explaining that there are another five deliveries of birds due this spring, all of which have been sold out for almost a month. “I think we’re running about 2,000 more than last year” he said, putting the total number of birds sold somewhere in the range of 8,500 to 9,000.
The store owner said that many of the buyers are regulars, but that the majority is people coming in to buy birds for the first time.
“The city had a bylaw last year where you could keep three or four chickens, so we saw an increase last year because of that,” he said. “This year people went to the store to get eggs and they didn’t have any, there was a shortage. I think that played a part.”
“The meat birds are the same. We’re sold out until pretty near August now,” Crease added, noting that although it is not unusual to sell out the week before a delivery, this comes months in advance and has seen an entire load of 700 birds sell out in a day.
Aside from fowl, the store has also seen a rush on general gardening supplies.
“That’s something else this year,” Crease said. “We sold more seed in two weeks than we did all last year in packages.”
The store owner said that the early rush on garden supplies was driven by the same sorts of concerns over scarcity as the run on chickens, but as time has gone on the reasoning has shifted a bit.
“A few people mentioned that it didn’t look like they were going to be able to go anywhere this summer, and they always wanted to start a garden,” he said. “A lot of them are off work so they have the time to ask questions. It’s a bit more work for us, but it’s part of the job.”
In addition to being good for business, Crease said that he is looking forward to seeing how the massive surge in home gardening changes people’s perspectives on food production.
“A lot of people go to the grocery store to pick up whatever and have no idea of the effort it takes to grow it.” he said. “This might be a nice eye opener. I’m anxious to see, this fall, how it all turns out.”
Outside of those two areas, Crease said that the store has been working hard to follow new safety protocols while also getting the things that people need. Facing a world where suppliers are shorthanded and delivery times are longer, an effort has been made to stock up on the supplies that will be necessary later in the season, like baler twine.
“It’s here if something does happen.” he said, recognizing that a lot of people feel uncertain about what’s coming up around the corner.
Nine weeks into this unusual rush, Crease said he expects things to quiet down a bit in the coming month.
“We just hope everyone stays healthy,” he said. “So far, so good.”