WENTZVILLE, Mo. — Climbing into a green and yellow John Deere tractor, Mark Scott says corn farmers everywhere face a lot of uncertainty for the start of the planting season.
"It's going to be pretty tough unless something turns around real quick," Scott said of the rapidly-declining demand for corn.
A key component in ethanol gasoline, corn prices have dropped dramatically in just weeks. Crude oil prices have plunged during a trade war. Quarantine precautions have stopped American drivers in their tracks.
"A third of our corn goes into ethanol production, so the ethanol industry has just basically demoralized by the loss of that market," Scott said. "Our prices plummeted about $.60-$.70 a bushel in the last four weeks. That's affecting my bottom line just the same as it is affecting the ethanol producers."
A third-generation farmer, Scott says committing to and selling a full crop would still leave him in the red at the end of the year.
"It's a big financial risk. If this doesn't get settled, it's going to be a pretty tough year again," Scott said. "And the last 4-5 years, we've been just barely eeking it out."
Last spring's heavy rain -- and summer flooding -- damaged farmland along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
But Scott's worries aren't only financial. He's not immune to concerns about catching the coronavirus.
"This is our busiest time of the year, and that's why everybody's taking this seriously. I can't afford to be sick," he said.
The corn season started on April 1 and runs 50 days.
Scott says crop insurance could help farmers recover a percentage of their losses if the prices don't come back up.
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