As the price of gasoline plummeted amid COVID-19 restrictions, so has the price of ethanol.
And Midwestern corn farmers are beginning to feel the impacts.
“People like myself have been affected financially tremendously,” says Paul Jeschke, full-time corn farmer and District 5 Director of theIllinois Corn Marketing Board.
Approximately40%of corn grown in the U.S. is made into ethanol, which is blended with gasoline to reduce emissions. With most Americans stuck inside amid social distancing and shelter-in-place orders, the demand for gasoline has dropped off, and with it, thedemandfor ethanol.
According to Jeschke, corn growers were hopeful the price of corn would surpass $4.00/bushel. However, withcurrentcorn bids well below that, Jeschke says many growers will have a hard time breaking even this year.
“There’s a lot of fear out here about this corn market and wondering where it’s gonna go from here,” he says.
Some ethanol plants have even been forced toclose down, including in Iowa and Nebraska.
“Each day that’s becoming a more dire situation, and that’s why farmers are more and more nervous about those markets,” says Jeschke.
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