2020-04 PAER Special edition: COVID-19 impact on agriculture

April 17, 2020

In this Purdue Ag Econ Report (PAER) special edition, we look at COVID-19 impacts on agriculture and related topics, including:

  • Retail food markets
  • SBA help for business
  • Ethanol demand
  • U.S. soybean and wheat exports
  • Threats to local government revenue
  • Online grocery pricing
  • Consumption and risk behavior after natural disasters

Articles in this Publication:

Retail Markets Get a Boost During COVID-19

SBA Help for Small (and Family) Businesses

COVID-19 Weakens Ethanol Demand Leading to Reduction in Corn Usage Forecast

Short-Term Effects of COVID-19 on U.S. Soybean and Wheat Exports

Changing Crop Net Return Prospects

Threats to Local Government Revenues from the Coronavirus Recession

COVID-19 and Online Grocery Prices

Specialty Farm Households’ Consumption and Risk Behavior After Natural Disasters

Latest Articles:

The August 2026 CPI and PPI Reports: The Late-July Energy Spike Arrives, and the Food Pipeline Still Holds

September 16, 2026

Energy costs surged across both reports this month — diesel fuel up 24.1 percent, gasoline up 3.9 percent — in a single month. At the same time, food inflation sat almost exactly where it sat in July, and the most upstream producer-price stage swung through a wider range than the stage nearest the consumer has moved in three months combined. A real, measurable energy shock landing squarely in the data, alongside a food pipeline that barely moved, is the sharpest evidence yet for the thesis this series has been building since spring.

The August 2026 Beef Import Waiver: A Narrow Tool Aimed at a Narrow Problem

August 25, 2026

This is a targeted policy aimed at a narrow slice of the beef market — imported product for ground beef, much of which is lean processing beef — rather than a broad intervention in the fed-cattle market. It was announced in response to historically tight cattle supplies and unusually high beef prices. Within that narrow lane, the most plausible effect is some additional availability of lower-cost processing beef and some downward pressure on ground-beef prices.

The July 2026 CPI and PPI Reports: The Energy Shock Bypasses the Food Pipeline

August 20, 2026

Energy prices are 14.7 percent above year-ago levels, and yet the raw agricultural commodities that sit at the head of the food pipeline are cheaper than they were last July. That combination is the whole story of this month’s release — but it is not evidence that the energy shock missed agriculture.