US Farmers Leave Fields Fallow As COVID-19 Wrecks Crop Prospects
By Reuters
The 1,250 acres of irrigated fields are the most valuable on Troy Schneider's farm in eastern Colorado, as corn yields in his county typically come in more than three times higher on those fields than dryland ones.
But this year, with the economy contracting and demand for corn-based biofuel falling off, Schneider is not planting any cash crops under the sprinkler system on 125 of those irrigated acres. He calculated it would make more financial sense to grow grass for his cows.
"With the economy shut down and lack of driving, it drove the price down too much," he said. "Why even take a chance? You are going to lose money on everything.