Agriculture Issues: Coronavirus Impacts

The coronavirus: the virus that has taken over the world. We know the symptoms, and what actions to take as far as quarantine. But what kind of impact does it have on agriculture?

Now, when it comes to the concerns for this virus outbreak, how it’s affecting the small town farmer is probably not what you’re thinking about. Your mind wanders more towards yourself if you’re not involved in farming. However, agriculture might be one of the biggest factors in our lives that is being impacted.

The coronavirus is causing hardships on everybody (based on the storage of toilet paper and bottled water), but people involved in agriculture are taking a major hit as well. Cattle prices are dropping every week, making owners decide whether to keep them or sell for a fraction of their usual profit. Now the coronavirus is not the only aspect that is impacting cattle prices, so many uncontrollable factors play a part as well. For example, the recent increase in rain leads to muddy pastures, which then makes it difficult for farmers to get cattle up. Even the primary elections that are happening currently can effect the cattle industry.

Cattle and people are not the only thing this virus is impacting, grain producers are seeing the effects. Soybeans’ price has decreased by around 4 cents, and the same could be said for wheat, while corn has dropped by 5 cents. You may wonder how can a couple pennies could really even be worth talking about when it comes to a multi-million dollar industry. For growers, a couple of pennies could be the difference in going into debt or profiting for that season.

The impact the coronavirus has on the world, people, and social media obviously affects all of us. Just open up Facebook and you can see where another school has closed, or where another Walmart ran out of toilet paper.

While in this pandemic, don’t forget to wash your hands, and remember the farmers!