IARN — The COVID-19 pandemic could create a drastic drop in 2020 crop revenues, according to a new analysis from the National Corn Growers Association.
During a recent press call with the Renewable Fuels Association, NCGA President Kevin Ross said their latest analysis projects a $59 per acre loss for the 2019 corn crop and an $89 per acre loss for 2020. He says that equates to the lowest crop revenues since 2006 for corn farmers.
“That’s significant dollars,” Ross said. “That’s really the very beginning of the RFS and where we saw demand take us from a corn perspective. As we look at what is going on now, we certainly understand that carryout is big and it’s the biggest it will be since the 80s. What happens there is we still have a very large demand scenario. We need this ethanol industry to get back and going on its feet so we can consume this quicker.”
Ross – who is a corn grower near Minden, Iowa – noted the impacts could persist into 2021.
“We certainly think that right now the longterm success of our ethanol partners and driving biofuels demand is definitely the best way to paint a good economic picture for agriculture,” Ross said. “It was in 2006, and it still is today.”
The analysis was conducted by Dr. Gary Schnitkey of the University of Illinois using projections for 2019, 2020, and 2021 for pre-COVID and post-COVID scenarios.
It follows previous analysis built on market numbers to date, along with estimates of state-level impacts, conducted as part of NCGA’s efforts to better understand the economic impact of the global pandemic on the corn industry and work to create solutions to help corn farmers and their customers recover from the financial impacts of this crisis.
The full analysis can be viewed in its entirety by clicking here.
Story courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
