Extension, ethanol and impending drought

What do you do when you can't hold meetings to keep farmers informed? With ethanol demand collapsing, plants are turning to making sanitizer, but there are other impacts as well. And while California is dealing with coronavirus, there's another approaching issue – drought.

The latest episode of Around Farm Progress visits with two Farm Progress editors to get the lowdown on those hot topics.

Mindy Ward, editor, Missouri Ruralist, shares insight on how Extension experts are able to reach out to farmers in new ways from statewide town halls to video chats to texting. And she offers some insight into what the collapse of ethanol demand looks like not only for the plants but for farmers that rely on feed byproducts.

Out west, the diverse agriculture of California is under pressure from coronavirus, and Tim Hearden, Western Farm Press, shares insight on that issue. He also raises a non-COVID-19 issue that California farmers will be facing in 2020 and that's water access with drought appearing in the state.

Ward and Hearden offer their local view of how these issues are impacting farmers and the people who support the industry.