Coronavirus to Dicamba: The Numbers Game for Agriculture
June 16, 2020 While watching the evening news the other night, I was struck by all the numbers that are currently being tossed about to the public. Some examples: 115,000 (the number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic), $1,200 (the average amount of government stimulus people have received because of COVID-19), 13.3% (the current percentage of U.S. workers that are unemployed).
With all these numbers out there, I thought it would be interesting to look at a couple of numbers that mean something to those individuals that make their living from agriculture. So here goes . . .
$89
Sticking with the COVID-19 pandemic, this is expected to negatively impact the corn market. A new analysis from the National Corn Growers Association projects an $89 per acre average revenue decline for 2020 in corn because of the coronavirus pandemic. “If realized, the 2020 crop year revenue would be the lowest corn revenues since 2006,” said the association. “Residual impacts from COVID-19 on corn prices are very likely to persist into 2021 and possibly beyond.”
$32.8 Billion
According to analysts, the government will send a record $32.8 billion in direct payments to farmers in 2020 to aid during the economic slowdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Overall, this would mean federal support for growers would amount to 36% of farm income – the largest share since 2001.
50,000 to 80,000
Shifting gears a bit, these two numbers represent the low and high water marks for glyphosate lawsuits that could be wiped out if Bayer and litigators agree to a reported multi-billion dollar settlement plan. At press time, the discussions between these parties were “ongoing,” but insiders say that some type of announcement regarding a partial glyphosate lawsuit resolution could happen “soon.”
3
Given how large the other numbers are on this list, three doesn’t seem that significant – unless you are talking about the recent dicamba decision. Three is the number of judges on the Ninth Circuit Court that ruled against the popular herbicide’s re-registration from October 2018. This essentially vacated dicamba use immediately across the U.S., affecting three brands (XtendiMax from Bayer, Engenia from BASF, and FeXapan from Corteva). Ultimately, the EPA countered that dicamba could still be appealed for the 2020 season, but the long-time ramifications from these three judges regarding three dicamba products remains to be seen.
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