health

Rural Mainstreet Index at Highest Point in Five Years

Dan Economy, Industry News Release

The Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index climbed above growth neutral in May for the fourth-straight month. The index surveys bank CEOs in rural areas across a ten-state region that depends on agriculture or energy to power its economy. It’s the first time since 2015 that the index readings have been above growth-neutral in four consecutive months. The growth index rose …

trump

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue: “Trump Administration Stands Behind Ag Producers”

Dan Economy, Industry News Release

“My message to rural America is always the same: President Trump hears you and is working to make your life better.” Trump Administration Stands Behind Ag Producers By Secretary Sonny Perdue Omaha World-Herald May 20, 2018 … Throughout my travels, I’ve heard from the people living in rural America about what they want out of this administration: a boost in …

Farm loan

Farm Loan Rates Edging Higher

Dan Economy, Industry News Release

Interest rates on most types of farm loans continued to move higher. A Kansas City Fed report says, following modest increases in short-term rates, commercial banks raised interest rates on loans used to finance various farm-sector purchases. Following a period of historically-low rates, interest rates increased most significantly on loans used to finance operating expenses. Operating loan interest rates have …

grain

Farm State Senators Worry About Trade During Hearing

Dan Exports/Imports, Industry News Release, Trade

The Senate Agriculture Committee convened a hearing on Tuesday and expressed a great deal of concern over the trade strategy of President Donald Trump and its effects on the U.S. farm economy. Politico says farm-state senators used the opportunity to direct Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue to impress on the Trump administration just how sensitive commodity markets are to trade actions. …

farm bill debate

Ending Payment Limits Could Cause Farm Consolidation

Dan Economy, Farm Bill, Industry News Release

The farm bill draft released by the House Agriculture committee includes provisions that “would reverse decades of precedent,” and usher in an era of “unlimited farm subsidies for the nation’s largest mega-farms,” according to the National Sustainable Ag Coalition. The coalition calls the farm bill a “brazen attempt to undo years of statute for the benefit of the nation’s largest …

Farmers Have Other Concerns Than Farm Bill

Dan Economy, Farm Bill, Industry News Release, Trade

Farmers are more concerned with trade and being burdened with over-regulation, rather than the farm bill, according to one U.S. Senator. Republican Roy Blunt of Missouri said during a Senate hearing last week that “the farm bill never came up” during a recent listening session with farmers in his state, as pointed out by the Food and Environment Reporting Network. …

agriculture

Farm Credit Administration Releases Quarterly Report

Dan Economy, Industry News Release

A report on the performance of the Farm Credit System shows 2018 is another challenging year for agriculture. The report, presented to the Farm Credit Administration board, outlines the economic issues affecting agriculture. Based on its first forecast of the 2018 farm economy, The Department of Agriculture projects net farm income to decline by 6.7 percent, with both crop and …

owning

Rural Mainstreet Index Remains Positive

Dan Economy, Industry News Release

Dodd-Frank Limits Lending for Most Rural Banks March Survey Results at a Glance: *  For a second straight month the overall index rose above growth neutral. *  Approximately 16.8 percent of grain farmers are expected to suffer negative cash flow for 2018. This is down slightly from 12 months earlier. * The percent of farmland purchases for cash (not financed) declined …