The COVID-19 crisis has slammed the major sectors of Iowa agriculture and will cause nearly $6.7 billion in economic damage to farmers and others in the state’s ag sector during 2020, according to new projections released last week by Iowa State University’s Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD).

The analysis shows all of Iowa’s top ag enterprises have absorbed significant economic hits since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in late January. It showed the COVID-19 crisis is hitting the state’s ethanol and pork production sectors the hardest, with ethanol accounting for $2.9 billion in losses and pork suffering nearly $2.1 billion. Other key...