Yes, 2020 brought both widespread drought and, in places, excess rain. Yes, it brought a derecho, “365-day corn,” special government payments, more appreciation for agriculture and, until late in the year, continued concern about poor crop prices. And, yes, it brought a much-appreciated smooth harvest.
But first, foremost and always, 2020 will be remembered as the year of the coronavirus pandemic. On a business level, the pandemic affected individual agribusiness operations and the entire food supply chain. On a personal level, it changed the way that farm families and other Americans lived and worked.
For many agriculturalists, the years tend to run together over time, with key events from one year merging in memory with what happened in previous or following years. Not 2020. For everyone who lived through it, 2020 will stand unforgettably as the year of COVID-19.
Here’s a quick look back at some 2020 highlights:
Sam Ongstad of Harvey, N.D., says snow has settled and melted some. He says about 15% of the crops in some fields have been lost on field edges. N.D. Mikkel Pates / Agweek
Cool weather generally prevents an early start to spring planting. Large amounts of still-in-the-field 2019 crops also hamper planting, especially in North Dakota.
The Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP, marks its 35th anniversary. American landowners enroll more than 3.4 million acres in the new CRP general signup. Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota enroll a combined 700,000 acres.
The Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, S.D., on April 16. (Jeremy Fugleberg / Forum News Service)
The U.S. meat industry is especially hard hit. By month’s end, workers at 115 meat plants nationwide had tested positive for the coronavirus. In Sioux Falls, S.D., the Smithfield Foods coronavirus hotspot is the biggest single-source of cases in the country.
Jerry Hennessey, convicted fraudster and former manager of an Ashby, Minn., co-op, requests “compassionate release” from prison and asks for home confinement instead. Later, he’s diagnosed with asymptotic COVID-19. His request is denied.
Isaac Askegaard (right) unclogs the mud and roots of 2019 corn going through his uncle’s combine. His uncle, Ed Askegaard was operating on a field north of Wolverton, Minn., on May 28. Late harvest leads to late planting, and more prevented-planting insurance payments. Mikkel Pates / Forum News Service
Harvest of some 2019 crops continues, especially in North Dakota. Some corn farmers refer to corn harvested roughly a year after 2019 planting as “365-day corn.”
Corn field is seen damaged by winds in Boone County, Iowa, on Aug. 19, 2020. Karen Braun / Reuters
“Derecho” enters the working vocabulary of area agriculturists after an intense wind storm damages about 14 million acres in Iowa, or 57% of the state’s planted area. Drought further weakens Iowa crops.
A combine rolls on a sunflower field near Crystal Springs, N.D., in eastern Kidder County on Oct. 10, 2020. Farmers in the state jumped to 24% harvested as of Oct. 12, up from 16% the prior week. (Mikkel Pates / Agweek)
Harvest progresses smoothly and wraps up ahead of normal for many crops. Area sugar beet farmers are especially appreciate because of the extremely tough 2019 harvest in which about one-third of the expected crop was left in the ground because of freezing and snow. Now, beet crops come back to normal and sugar price forecasts are better because of normalized imports from Mexico.
Snow across the region slowed a 2020 harvest that had been moving at record pace. (Michelle Rook / Agweek)
Snowfall late in the month in South Dakota is a mixed blessing. It slows harvest, but also helps to recharge much-need soil moisture.
Rep. Collin Peterson and former Lt. Gov. Michelle Fischbach. Submitted photos
Republican challenger and former Minnesota Lt. Governor Michelle Fischbach defeats veteran incumbent Rep. Collin Peterson, a Democrat, in the state’s sprawling, ag-dominated Seventh District. Peterson was a long-time leader of the House Ag Committee.
Buyers look over potential purchases at the Central Livestock sale barn in West Fargo. David Samson / The Forum
Word comes that Central Livestock’s location in West Fargo, N.D., will be closing. A developer wants to raze the entire grounds and build something new. The location has drawn buyers and sellers since 1935.
The aftermath of a barn fire at a hog facility in Dodge County on Dec. 3, which killed approximately 2,000 piglets. (Noah Fish / Agweek)
About 2,000 pigs are killed in a barn fire in Minnesota’s Dodge County.
South Dakota legislators approve the final rules to get the state’s industrial hemp program up and running.
Tom Vilsack
President-elect Joe Biden picks former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack to become U.S. agriculture secretary. Vilsack, who led USDA during the Obama administration, is a popular pick with area agriculturalists. But USDA critics say someone new with fresh ideas would have been better.
A third round of coronavirus relief payments to farmers is announced. Producers and ag processors left out of previous aid programs this year while be helped this time. Other assistance, including help for renewable biofuels and new benefits for rural health providers, will be available, too.