Farmers at risk as livestock and crop prices fall

The American Farm Bureau Federation warned that falling crop and livestock prices during the coronavirus pandemic are taking a severe financial hit on producers. The organization is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to quickly deliver aid to farmers.

Corn futures prices have fallen 15% as ethanol declines, and soybean prices have dropped 10%. Meanwhile, both beef and pork futures have fallen more than 30%. Milk has declined by as much as 34%, according to AFBF.

“I stand by my assurance that our food supply remains strong, but America will have fewer farms and ranches supplying it unless USDA acts quickly to deliver aid and our economy is released from the grips of this pandemic soon,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall.

Demand has dropped severely as large customers like restaurants and schools close. That drop “is pushing the prices farmers would get paid for their crops to lows that may make it very difficult for them to justify putting another crop in the ground this spring,” said Dr. John Newton, AFBF’s chief economist. “While the whole country is optimistic there is an end in sight, the question of when the economy will be healthy again is fueling further market uncertainty.”

Newton added that while prices paid to farmers are dropping, this “very rarely, if ever, translates into lower consumer prices immediately.”