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Farmers adapting to lower farm financials

The vice president of oils, grains, and seed analysis at Rabobank says farmers are facing more financial pressure this harvest season.

Owen Wagner says lower commodity prices are leading to an uptick in operating lines of credit.

“The first step that farmers often take when met with lower prices, and that’s pulling back on input expenditures,” he says. “Of course, cutting expenses can only get you so far. So after you’ve exhausted all options with cost cutting, then you’re going to need to start to borrow more money.”

He tells Brownfield…

“These kinds of downturns are how ag lenders are defined and understanding of the cyclicality of agriculture, we as an industry need to be very mindful of continued support for those small to medium sized farmers,” he says.

Wagner says interest rates are expected to move lower throughout the rest of the year, but continuing to offer operational support to farmers is key to maintaining a stable industry.

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