The Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index remained weak with a reading below growth neutral for the 20th straight month, according to the monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and energy. Released last week, the index which ranges between 0 and 100, slipped to 44.6 from 45.3 in March. The last time …
Ag Confidence Grows as Latest DTN/PF Survey Suggests Strong Future
Farmers, ranchers remain concerned on current conditions; optimistic about future Despite continued flat commodity prices, attitudes of U.S. farmers took a solid leap into positive territory, according to the most recent DTN/The Progressive Farmer (DTN/PF) Agricultural Confidence Index (ACI). The survey, which tracks farmer opinions of their current and future conditions, had an overall score of 130, a significant improvement …
USDA: Agriculture a $992 Billion Economic Factor
Data by the Department of Agriculture shows agriculture and agriculture-related industries contributed $992 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2015, a 5.5-percent share, the most recent USDA statistics.The output of America’s farms contributed $136.7 billion of this sum, about one percent of GDP. USDA says the overall contribution of the agriculture sector to GDP is larger than that …
Farm Credit Officials Encouraging Help for Struggling Borrowers
Farm Credit Administration and Farm Credit bank officials told House Agriculture Committee lawmakers the system is sound, making credit available on flexible terms, and only technical tweaks and a strong safety net are needed in the next farm bill. But FCA Chairman and CEO Dallas Tonsager says the bigger issue seems to be the deteriorating creditworthiness of producers… Sponsored ContentNuseed …
Federal Reserve Makes Expected Interest Rate Increase
The U.S. Federal Reserve has again elected to move forward with interest rate increases following a meeting Wednesday. Widely expected, the decision raises the Fed’s benchmark rate to a range between 0.75 percent and one percent. Sponsored ContentNuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024CIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in ProfitabilityApril 1, 2024
Global Food Prices Edging Higher
Global food prices trended higher in February, increasing half a percent compared to January. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations released its Food Price Index Monday. Sponsored ContentNuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024CIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in ProfitabilityApril 1, 2024
Farm Credit System Able To Weather Economic Downturn
Loan delinquencies and other signs of repayment problems are expected to increase in 2017 among farmers and ranchers. Politico’s Morning Agriculture Report says in spite of that, the farm credit system should be able to weather the downturn in the Ag economy. Sponsored ContentNuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024CIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in ProfitabilityApril …
Farm Sector Working Capital to Decrease in 2017
Farm financial liquidity describes how easily members of the farm sector can convert assets to cash in order to meet short term debt obligations. One measure of liquidity is working capital, which is the difference between current assets like cash and inventory, and short term debt. Higher working capital means much better financial health for the farm sector. The USDA …
AFBF President Addresses USDA Ag Outlook Forum
“This could be the best of times…and possibly the worst of times in agriculture,” according to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall, who spoke last week at the Department of Agriculture’s Ag Outlook Forum. Sponsored ContentNuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024CIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in ProfitabilityApril 1, 2024
Rural Mainstreet Index Improving
Rural Mainstreet Climbs to Highest Level Since September 2015: But Only 15 Percent Report Expanding Economy February Survey Results at a Glance: * The overall index, while remaining below growth neutral, rose to its highest level since September 2015. * More than one-third of bank CEOs reported their local economy remains in an economic downturn. Only 14.9 percent of bankers indicated their local …