farm loans

After three straight months of readings slightly above growth neutral, the Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index fell below the growth neutral threshold.  The March index slumped from 50.1 in February to a reading of 45.6 in March.  Despite...

A new, simplified direct loan application is now available for all producers seeking a direct farm loan from the Farm Service Agency.  The new application went from 29 to 13 pages to provide an improved customer experience for producers applying for loans and enables them to complete a more streamlined application  Producers also have the option to complete an electronic fillable form or prepare a

One of the serious issues for beginning, small, or underserved farmers is the lack of access to credit.  And ask anyone who’s farmed for a while, without credit, it's almost impossible for any farmer to make it.   “This is what I feel like I was brought to the agency for is to help improve access to credit especially to those underserved populations.”   FSA Adminis...

Access to credit is an important key to success in American agriculture.  Brian Tombari, Productivity Plus Program Manager at CNH Industrial Capital, said they can help to simply a farmer’s purchasing process.   “Case IH’s captive finance partner, CNH Industrial Capital, offers a line of credit called Productivity Plus," Tombari noted.  "This line of credit can ...

As farmers look ahead to 2023, many are concerned about what the financial picture hold in store.  While many producers enjoyed record commodity prices last year, there were several headwinds, from high input costs, to trade issues, and of course, weather problems, giving many reason to pause in the months ahead.  Heather...

Farm lending activity continued to gradually increase along with further growth in loan sizes.  The Kansas City Federal Reserve says the average size of non-real estate farm loans was about 20% higher than a year ago and drove an increase in lending volumes for the fourth straight quarter.  Average...

FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux said he would like to see changes to the federal farm loan system.  He said he would like to see FSA operate less like a lending institution and more like a federal government initiative.  He said right now, one of the biggest challenges is that many of the Department’s loan officers have a more conservative frame of mind then needed, which he says does not result

In addition to American farmers earning a record high net income this year, experts say the financial health of the farm sector is better this year both from a farm debt and farm equity measure.  USDA chief economist Seth Meyer said by the time 2022 has come to a close, "Equity and assets are expected to rise she got at 4.1 and a 3.5% i...

Farm loan interest rates increased sharply during the third quarter.  The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said despite the high borrowing costs, farm real estate values continued higher.  However, the rate of increase slowed in the quarter.   Follo...

The top concern facing agricultural lenders going into 2023 is interest rate volatility, according to the 2022 Agricultural Lender Survey report.  The report announced this week is produced jointly by the American Bankers Association and Farmer Mac.  Nearly ...