There is nothing that has impacted U.S. corn production and demand more than the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a federal program that requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels. Corn has been the major feedstock in the production of fuel ethanol and today consumes one-third of all corn production.

Perhaps no commodity has felt the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic more than ethanol, and thus corn, as gasoline usage declined dramatically during the stay at home restrictions took effect.

Corn Prices Expected to Dive

In a recent interview with Brownfield, John Linder, a vice president with the National Corn Growers Assn. and chair of its COVID-19 taskforce, said a recent report prepared for the association projects an average decline of $59 per acre in corn prices for the 2019 crop. The impact is expected to produce an $89 per acre decrease for the 2020 corn crop. Gary Schnitkey of the University of Illinois provided the analysis of the report.

According to Linder, if those numbers play out, the 2020 crop year revenue would be the lowest since 2006 and he added that the impacts would likely continue into 2021 and beyond. “Obviously, livestock markets are having their share of problems as well as the ethanol industry and their co-products. So, our two major markets are experiencing devastating impacts that are carrying all the way out to the farm gate.”

Fuel Demand Plummets

According to the U.S. Energy Information Admn…