鈥淯ncertainty鈥� is the word that seems to be on everyone鈥檚 lips when asked about how COVID-19 has impacted agriculture in Colorado.
Commodity prices, tariffs, weather, floods, labor, farm succession, water, the survival of the rural communities that surround them 鈥� uncertainty is nothing new for farmers and ranchers.
Many say that 鈥�.鈥� So for as much as they鈥檙e worried, the uncertainty also allows them to be hopeful that they鈥檒l come out of the other side okay. Some seem hopeful that they鈥檒l come out even better than okay.
Coronavirus is bringing a few of the food industries鈥� biggest issues to the forefront: labor, health and safety and tumbling prices for agricultural products.
In March, corn futures fell 14%, cattle 25% and dairy prices went down 26% to 36%. Several other commodities saw significant drops too,
鈥淚t makes it pretty hard to make a living,鈥� said Kyle McConnell, a corn and cattle farmer in Haxtun, in the northeast corner of the state.
Last week the price for a bushel of corn . McConnell needs $4 per bushel just to break even.
鈥淎s our costs rise, our income has done nothing but drop. So then the margins get tighter and tighter and tighter,鈥� he said.
His corn is primarily used for feed and ethanol, which is used in fuel. And since people are driving less, the , taking the need for. Which, in turn, leads to overproduction.
鈥淎ny time we have overproduction and the carry-outs are at record highs, the only way to offset that is through lower prices,鈥� McConnell said.
Many farmers could be eyeing a change in crop due to the price drops, but Colorado Corn Growers Association Executive Director Nick Colglazier said that corn farmers are already locked in by this time of year.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e already prepared for those acres to be corn,鈥� Colglazier said. 鈥淚t is going to be hard for them to transition over.鈥�
He said it鈥檚 not impossible, but farmers will have to decide whether the change is worth it economically.
鈥淔or a lot of them, even with these low prices, it could possibly still be corn that is the best economic option for that farm,鈥� Colglazier said. 鈥淓ven though at some point you could be losing money for every acre of corn you plant.鈥�
Similar imbalances are happening across the other commodities as demand disappeared from restaurants, schools, universities and businesses that have shut down or reduced operations. Suddenly, there鈥檚 a glut of product with fewer places to go.
The images of empty grocery store shelves aren鈥檛 signaling a lack of supply, said Taylor Szilagyi, director of policy communications for the Colorado Farm Bureau.
鈥淭he way consumers鈥� purchasing habits have changed, we鈥檙e seeing bigger rushes and bigger purchases of certain types of food,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd it's just going to take the supply chain and the transportation from one place to another a little bit longer to catch up.鈥�
And even when the prices for certain agricultural prices go up, that doesn鈥檛 mean the farmer who produced it is making a lot more money.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 necessarily go from the farmer鈥檚 ground to your plate. It has to go through, likely, a processor, it costs money to transport the food. It costs money for the grocery stores to then take that food and sell it,鈥� Szilagyi said. 鈥淎nd so really farmers aren鈥檛 receiving the full price of what you鈥檙e paying at the grocery store. They鈥檙e receiving a much, much lower price.鈥�
And thus far, increased buying at the grocery store has not been nearly enough to make up for the lost demand elsewhere.
The lack of demand and dismal prices has left a lot of farmers with nowhere to put their product.
So far, there have been no similar reports in Colorado.
Foy Chapin runs Chapin Dairy Farms in Morgan County. His operation milks almost 2,000 cows and he hasn鈥檛 had to do any dumping.
鈥淐olorado is somewhat unique compared to the other states. We have the world's largest mozzarella cheese manufacturer here in Colorado,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd they take a large percentage of Colorado鈥檚 milk. Right now we have a good home for milk. It鈥檚 all getting processed.鈥�
Chapin is hurting because of the low prices. And he鈥檚 worried that dumping milk may be in his future too, if the pandemic goes on too much longer and starts impacting the in Greeley the same way it has halted operation at the JBS USA meatpacking plant in the same city.
The, or CARES Act, provides the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Commodity Credit Corporation (a federal corporation which works to a combined $23.5 billion in aid.
That money 鈥渋s a good start,鈥� says Taylor Szilagyi of the Colorado Farm Bureau.
鈥淲ith all of this uncertainty, it doesn鈥檛 seem like it鈥檚 going to be enough,鈥� she said.
And she鈥檚 not alone. Rocky Mountain Farmers Union President Dale McCall said he also believes more will be needed.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want a handout, but we want to make sure our markets are open and that we can grow some of those markets back. But that鈥檚 going to take some time,鈥� he said.
Agricultural industries can also apply for Small Business Administration paycheck protection loans, which are designed to help businesses keep employees on during these difficult times. But, unlike other industries, they don鈥檛 qualify for the more general Economic Injury Disaster Loans.
A bipartisan group of legislators sent a letter to the SBA urging the agency to allow farmers to qualify, saying that leaving farmers out of the disaster loans program is 鈥溾€� in the CARES Act aid package for small businesses.
Concerns about pricing, demand and financial aid are just part of the uncertainty looming over the industry right now. From how to get products to consumers for those who once relied on farmers鈥� markets or other direct sales, to socially distant planting practices, to mental health concerns as farmers and ranchers get lonelier and more stressed, it鈥檚 all piling up.
Farmers are particularly worried about the medical facilities they rely on, McCall said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really concerned about the rural hospitals being prepared,鈥� he said, 鈥渋f this spreads to the rural areas like we think it might.鈥�
