News

St. Louis fed reports ranch and pasture lands values up

The fourth quarter of 2017 saw a record increase in ranch and pastureland values in the St. Louis Federal Reserve District but farm income declined.

The bank’s Agricultural Finance Monitor showed a nearly 15 percent increase in ranchland and pastures and a five-percent increase in the fourth quarter in QUALITY farmland. Cash rents also rose for all those types of land.

Farm income, however, continued to show year-over-year declines. The bankers surveyed were “modestly optimistic” about the near-term prospects for farm income.

Nearly two-dozen ag bankers were surveyed in the seven-state district which includes Illinois, Indiana and Missouri (also, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee).

Nearly 65 percent of lenders believe the rural economy is “fair to poor.” Only 35-percent reported their economies as “good.” Seventy-percent expect “little change” this year.