Chad Hart, associate professor, wrote an article for Ag Decision Maker on the impact of the coronavirus on Iowa crops.
"For the last few years, it seems like agriculture has been running from one crisis to another.
In 2018, it was the start of the trade fight with China and the spill-over skirmishes with the rest of the world. In 2019, it was the delayed and prevented planting problems. And in 2020, it is the coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak.
The damage to the demand side of the agricultural markets has been incredible. The closure of restaurants and the shift to significantly more at-home food consumption has driven a severe reworking of our food supply chain."
In a July 8, 2020 Farm Futures story, "The problem with stored grain -- now and this fall."
That leaves temporary storage, namely grain piles and polyethylene bags. The latter of which is 200 to 250 feet long and can store between 7,500 and 9,500 bushels of corn.
The bags are economical, says Chad Hart, Extension specialist with Iowa State University, although there’s plenty of sweat equity involved to manage them well and maintain quality. “There’s no set-it-and-forget-it strategy there,” he says. “Quality can shift in a hurry.”