Farm Lending Could Be Tight In Coming Months

USDA projects farm income to fall for the third straight year following record income levels.  A recent FarmerMac publication, suggests that could put pressure on farm lending in 2017.  Curt Covington, Senior Vice President of Ag Finance for FarmerMac said many bankers are uneasy about what the future holds.

“While we’ve just gotten through one of the tougher renewal seasons for these rural bankers over the last 10-15 years I think most of them are setting themselves up, preparing for a tougher fall when the crops come in  and they have their conversations with their borrowers.”

Farmer Mac Economist Jackson Takach said the strength of the U.S. Dollar was one of the biggest issues last year.

“You look at the beginning of 2016, and it started to weaken just a little bit, so, I’m optimistic that although exports were down in 2015 significantly that maybe in 2016 that starts to moderate a little.”

Takach said initial expectations shows exports  this calendar year down 10% from 2015.  FarmerMac is a $16 billion organization that provides rural banks support to help farmers.

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