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Not doom and gloom, but ag economy not inspiring risk

An ag lending specialist is somewhat pessimistic about the farm economy the remainder of this year.

Ashley Arrington with Ag Resource Management says this is not the time to take chances.

“I don’t think it’s all doom and gloom, but I would not be so optimistic to go out and make purchases that you wouldn’t have otherwise done. Or go out on a ledge to try something different, off the wall, or anything like that.”

She tells Brownfield farmers who make it through this economic downturn were prepared.

“They had already planned ahead, they had a little bit of working capital built up. They’re strategically managing their balance sheets, they’re managing their operations. This is not the first downcycle we saw, they’re recalling back to the last one we had in ’18 (and) ’19.”

Arrington says despite uncertainties with tariffs and commodity prices, she’s optimistic the ag economy will improve in 2026.