Economists at the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University have issued a new policy brief that measures the revenue impacts the COVID-19 outbreak is having on some of Iowa's largest agricultural industries. Estimates show overall annual damage of roughly $788 million for corn, $213 million for soybean, over $2.5 billion for ethanol, $658 million for fed cattle, $34 million for calves and feeder cattle, and $2.1 billion for hogs.

Now approved for year-round sale, E15 fuel offers environmentally-conscious consumers a new choice and provides farmers an expanded market for corn, says North Dakota State University.

Media coverage of the controversy surrounding the use of certain non-native feedstocks for bioenergy is as pervasive as invasiveness itself. Plants such as giant reed (Arundo donax) and elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) are known to be weedy or invasive in natural habitats; the concern lies in their ability to spread propagules into natural habitats outside intended areas.

Since early October, corn prices have bounced in a wide trading range. March 2012 futures have traded between about $5.75 and $6.75 while December 2012 futures have been between about $5.35 and $6.20.

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore reportedly has had a change of heart on ethanol, telling a conference on green energy in Europe that he only supported tax breaks for the alternative fuel to pander to farmers.