Coronavirus Putting Pressure On Ethanol, Farm Debt

The COVID-19 pandemic has rattled markets and put entire industries on edge, including elements of the farm economy. Pat Westhoff, director of the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri, says despite the appeals court ruling favoring biofuels, the plummeting price of oil is outweighing the impact.

FAPRI released its annual baseline outlook Monday, which included projections for farm income and debt ratio.

Westhoff says he and his staff are preparing updates to reflect new projections once the extent of coronavirus’s impact on the farm economy is better known.