As we all know, 2020 has been a perfect storm of difficulties for farmers and livestock producers between COVID-19 and trade wars. Now, much of the Midwest and specifically Iowa is feeling the impact of an actual weather-related storm in the derecho that took out millions of acres of crops and grain storage bins, barns and equipment sheds.
In a WATT Poultry Chat video interview, Joseph Kerns, CEO of Kerns and Associates, spoke about the storm and the crops lhat were lost.
He explains that as devastating as it was, it may not be as bad as what it appeared on day one. "You have the corn that's trying to resurrect itself, it will kind of gooseneck and come back up. Those ears will more than likely be harvested and count, it will just be very very slow going as far as the combine operator is concerned," he said.
Kerns does not believe that the impact on crops due to the storm is going to impact the grain market or trade. "From a U.S. perspective it means very little," he said. However, he did note that we do not have ideal finishing conditions for corn or beans and that factor is being built into prices right now. "I think whatever we are going to attribute to this particular storm has already been accounted for and we shouldn't be looking for a secondary wave," he concluded.
