U.S. farmers in the epidemic of Yicai Dialogue: Very depressed, they ca n’t "cloud farm"
Economic activity in the United States has contracted sharply, employment has declined, and overall prices have also shown a downward trend. This is the conclusion of the National Economic Survey report released by the Federal Reserve on April 15.
What is the biggest impact of the new crown epidemic on American agriculture? Joel Dejong, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University in the United States, said that by far the biggest impact on farmers in the United States is the price of agricultural products.
Dinone pointed out that usually during the spring, the price of the cereal market will increase, but this year is not the case.
Not only that, the market prices of crops and poultry have also declined.
"We need to see that the meat processing plants in some areas have been closed, which will affect the local meat prices, and then in the process of reducing the feeding of poultry animals, the demand for cereals will be reduced. In some places, ethanol The processing plant is being closed, which directly affects the local corn demand. "Dinone pointed out, however, while the new crown pneumonia crisis in the United States continues, the question farmers must consider is whether they have a" Plan B?
"This year is different. What you have to consider is that if you fall ill and fall suddenly, are there any back-ups to help you complete the whole planting process immediately."
Dinnon predicts that even if the US economic situation improves, the impact of new coronary pneumonia on agriculture will remain long-term.
Farmers in the US states clearly felt the negative factors from all sides.
According to the Purdue University ’s agricultural economic barometer report just released in March, farmers ’expectations of the status quo and future expectations in March fell to their lowest point since 2015 due to the impact of the epidemic. The report pointed out that 74% of farmers said they were very worried that the new crown epidemic would affect their farms.
Ohio Farmer:
Cultivating land in spring cannot be "cloud operated"
"Since 2012, we have been experiencing declines in the prices of agricultural products such as corn, soybeans, and wheat. We have become accustomed to self-adjusting responses, but now with the epidemic, this is undoubtedly worse." Hillblood, Ohio ( Nathan Brown, a farmer at BrownFarms in Hillsboro, said, "Everyone is currently in a state of depression. We don't want to admit it, but we are really struggling."
Brown pointed out that compared with many other industries who worry that the epidemic can be closed at home, farmers have no conditions to work indoors. Because after the spring weather gets warmer, the seeds should be sown immediately, other farming equipment should be prepared immediately, and the poultry should be fed and taken care of. In short, the farmer working for the family farm must also enter a "farm busy" working state.
In addition, Brown said that the challenge of social isolation for farmers is that farmers usually work on the farm for a long time, and then they will rush to the city and people in related industries such as sales when they need to talk about business. "Coffee" talks about business, but now the situation is that for quite a long time, few farmers have left their farms.
After experiencing the economic losses caused by the severe weather of "connected droughts and floods" in 2019, they worry that the disaster of "Mother Nature will not help" will be repeated in 2020. "At present we see similar weather conditions in the spring of 2019, which makes everyone very worried." Brown said.
Brown said that their local farmers said that the most worrying factor is also how the instability of the new crown epidemic will affect the state's "segregation at home" policy. If the state government requires residents to continue "at home to avoid epidemics," farmers will be unable to Carry out spring tillage work.
Generally American farmers will hire foreign workers to help farming, but current visas for foreign workers are limited, resulting in short-term labor shortages on American farms, which will also affect agricultural income to a certain extent.
In the current situation where “cloud farming” is not possible, Brown believes that the biggest gain is because after the closure of the New Coronary Pneumonia Outbreak School, his children have been at home, leaving many farmers who are usually busy with farming and unable to accompany their families “rarely idle” Enjoyed family time.
Brown said, for example, that the spring is when cows are born, and his elder son helped him to attach a number label to the newborn calf that day. "The child is very excited, we are very happy and satisfied." He said.
Indiana corn and bean farmers:
It ’s quarantine to drive a tractor and sow by yourself
"Spring is the most important season of the year, and everything from the farmland starts here." Indiana State Agriculture Bureau Vice Chairman KendellCulp told First Financial Reporter.
Copp is a third-generation farmer, and his family farm is located near Rensselaer, Indiana. Since 2015, Copp has been a member of the American Soybean Association. Copp said his farm has 2,000 acres (about 12,000 acres), grows corn and soybeans, and also raises cattle and pigs. Cope said that in the autumn harvest season, the corn produced by his farm will be partly reserved for animal feed and partly sold to ethanol plants, and most of the soybeans will be exported.
The US Department of Agriculture ’s report on agricultural planting released on March 31 shows that in 2020, American farmers plan to plant 97 million acres of corn and 83 million acres of soybeans.
"When the weather is warming and the soil is in a proper state, we turn on the machine and work many hours a day. This year's situation is a bit different. Everyone should be more cautious to adopt 'social isolation' and try not to contact other people." The first financial reporter said.
"The advantage is that in the process of farming, people often work independently, so the whole process of driving a tractor is like doing self-isolation." Cop said.
For Cop, what worries him most is the closure of the pork processing plant and beef packaging plant because of the new crown epidemic, because this will directly affect the price of meat on their farms. They had hoped that the price of meat would have a price this year. Bounce upwards.
Smithfield Foods' pork processing plant in SiouxFalls, South Dakota, has become the largest single-source outbreak in the United States. At least 640 new crown cases are related to the plant and one worker has died.
The plant is one of the largest pork processing plants in the United States, with processing capacity accounting for 4% to 5% of US pork production.
Smithfield also announced on April 15 local time that it will close two meat processing plants in Wisconsin and Missouri due to the epidemic.
"For farmers, spring is the most optimistic season, and we were all ready to go," Cop said.
Illinois dairy farmers:
Pour milk directly into the sewer
After several states across the United States declared home-based epidemic prevention, supermarkets "limited" the purchase of dairy products by customers, and schools and restaurants were closed, dairy farmers in each state soon ushered in a crisis they had not experienced before.
Jason Leedle, an Illinois milk farmer, clearly remembered that his heart sank when he called on the phone indirectly on Tuesday night.
The call comes from the American Dairy Farmers Association, whose job is to assist local dairy farmers in marketing and provide related transportation services throughout the United States.
"We need you to start pouring the milk you produce." A person in charge of the American Dairy Farmers Association told Ridler on the phone.
After putting down the phone, 36-year-old Ridler slowly walked into the cowshed on his farm. There, the cows are standing in a row, waiting to be milked.
"The only thing I can see is that all the squeezed milk went straight to the sewer," Ridler said.
Since Tuesday, Ridler has been pouring 4,700 gallons (about 17,800 liters) of milk from 480 cows on his farm every day.
Ridler said that the milk he dumped will receive some government subsidies, but the economic losses suffered by dairy farmers are still immeasurable.
In a statement, the American Dairy Farmers Association summarized the challenges that the new coronary pneumonia epidemic posed to the US dairy industry. The first is that milk is a perishable product, so there is a time limit for storage and transportation. Under the current epidemic, there is a shortage of staff in packaging and transportation industries, and milk is likely to be damaged before it is delivered; in addition, As the two largest buyers of the US dairy industry-schools and restaurants have closed because of the new crown epidemic, a large amount of milk is out of the market, and the supply is much more than demand.
The US Department of Agriculture has recently introduced some aid measures. On April 9, the United States Department of Agriculture announced that it would extend the duration of the Farmer's Trade Aid Loan to 12 months, which is applicable to most commodities such as barley, chickpeas, corn, and peanuts.
The New Crown epidemic severely hit the US dairy industry, and some members of Congress considered that the federal government should come to the rescue.
Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Freder Keller (FredKeller) and 49 Rep. Jointly sent a letter to the US Secretary of Agriculture Purdue, asking the federal government to immediately aid the US dairy industry.
"If you don't take immediate measures, the US dairy market will face a collapse and may never recover." 50 representatives from both parties said in the letter.
The current global food production and stocks are not optimistic. Since 2019, the global extreme climate has increased, disasters have been frequent, and regional and structural shortages have appeared in some places. This has been intertwined with this severe epidemic, making food production more difficult this summer.
As the overseas epidemic continues to spread, various countries have successively implemented policies of traffic blockades and restrictions on the export of civilian biological materials, and the bulk trade of agricultural products bears the brunt.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said that in addition to implementing emergency measures at home, international cooperation and open global trade are also key. Governments should remove export restrictions and import tariffs during the epidemic. "Keep open trade by keeping the supply chain running and actively seeking international cooperation."
Author: Sun Zhuo