Meatpacking plants have closed. Milk prices have cratered. Supply chain disruptions have led to a "perfect storm" beating on U.S. farmers. Altogether, the new coronavirus outbreak could lead to $20 billion in U.S. agriculture losses this year, according to a report from the University of Missouri released this week.
The report paints a grim picture of the virus' far-reaching toll on agriculture. Instead of seeing the U.S. ag economy grow by 2.8% this year as originally projected in January, the report now expects consumer expenditures to drop by 2.2% relative to 2019 _ amounting to a 5% overall drop from the forecast, or a $20 billion loss of net farm income.
Collectively, the effects to farmers stretch "pretty much across the board," said Pat Westhoff, a professor and director of the school's Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, which produced the report.
