Dairy, meat and crop supplies are available…but processing is not. Decreased demand for ethanol leads to changing priorities from farmers, and Midwest family farms, already impacted by rising machinery prices, struggle to survive. For Farm & Ag insurers, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unexpected challenges requiring quick, creative solutions to help keep the farm industry afloat.

There has seen an increase in governmental oversight of the manufacturing, handling and storage of food. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was passed to prevent practices that could potentially create food safety hazards. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in turn, released rules for the safe transport of food. They are known as rules for "Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food", and they are affecting the inland marine market.