An analysis prepared for the National Corn Growers Association concludes American corn farmers will lose $89 an acre in revenue this year — due to the pandemic.
“There are some economists predicting that are projecting….the 2021 crop year will be impacted,” said Chris Edgington, who farms near St. Ansgar and is the association’s new vice president.
A prediction from a University of Illinois economist suggests 2020 revenue from U.S. corn sales will dip to a 14-year low.
“We’ve got a lot of challenges,” Edgington said. “We’ve got a lot of great product that we need to get moved and we’re just looking for homes to get it out of the bins so we can put this year’s crop in there.”
The economic analysis done for the Corn Growers indicates that even after calculating the additional payment from federal farm programs, there’s a $15 per acre drop in revenue related to the 2019 corn crop.
“COVID is definitely causing some challenges in the country,” Edgington said. “Exports are a challenge. Demand for both ethanol and livestock have both been hit pretty hard at times and so those things rise right to the front when we get together as a group and talk.”
Edgington is part of a three-generation operation. He farms with his father, his brother and his son.
(By George Bower, KICD, Spencer)