Coronavirus hits grain farmers hard in markets

Mar 01, 2020 at 05:00 AM CST
The coronavirus or COVID-19 is having far-reaching global effects on countries and their economies but is also hitting the Midwest hard. While confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States remain low, impacts are already being felt in Nebraska’s rural communities. The most obvious area is the impact the virus is having on the grain commodities, which have been falling since Feb. 24. “We’ve been down so much in the markets this week, as the news came out about it spreading to Italy and Iran and we’ve just been selling off since then,” said Trevor Sutherland, Crossroad Coop grain merchandiser in Sidney. “It’s like a macro sell-off and they’re just kind of covering the risk side of the market.”

Mar 01, 2020 at 05:00 AM CST

The coronavirus or COVID-19 is having far-reaching global effects on countries and their economies but is also hitting the Midwest hard. While confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States remain low, impacts are already being felt in Nebraska’s rural communities. The most obvious area is the impact the virus is having on the grain commodities, which have been falling since Feb. 24. “We’ve been down so much in the markets this week, as the news came out about it spreading to Italy and Iran and we’ve just been selling off since then,” said Trevor Sutherland, Crossroad Coop grain merchandiser in Sidney. “It’s like a macro sell-off and they’re just kind of covering the risk side of the market.”