The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program or CFAP legislation is providing $16 billion to farmers and ranchers across the country. USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey says the impact of the coronavirus on agriculture is three to four times the $16 billion provided in the package. Nebraska Farm Bureau Senior Economist Jay Rempe says preliminary estimates he’s compiled on the impact on agriculture in Nebraska is more than $2 billion.

He says the major cost due to the pandemic to livestock producers is the backlog caused by animals that weren’t able to be processed.

Rempe says the cost of the coronavirus on the commodity sector has been on renewable fuels and exports.

Rempe says the costs due to the pandemic are fairly large, especially if you add the $2 billion loss in Nebraska to the rest of the Northern Plains States.