The amount of debt held by America's farmers has risen rapidly to 1980s-lev...
WASHINGTON - The amount of debt held by America’s farmers has risen rapidly to 1980s-levels at $409 billion from $385 billion last year, with loan demand remaining “historically high,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Wednesday.
The figures reflect a level of strain on the U.S. farm belt that is comparable to the agricultural crisis of three decades ago, this time driven by lingering weakness in commodity prices, storms damaging crops and loss of key export markets such as China due to President Donald Trump’s trade disputes.
But he added: “Relatively firm land values have kept farmer debt-to-asset levels low by historical standards at 13.5 percent, and continued low interest rates have kept the cost of borrowing relatively affordable.”In the 1980s, thousands of farm operations financially collapsed after producers dealing with low crop prices fell behind on high-interest land and equipment loans.
Farm incomes and agrarian credit conditions continued to erode in the second half of 2018 and for bankers one key concern has been the amount of farmland that could come up for sale in the coming months and whether that could trigger an across-the-board drop in land prices.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Nigeria votes for another four years of driftRe-elected President Muhammadu Buhari faces a daunting to-do list. His first term suggests most of it will stay undone. Easing the state’s grip on the currency and oil sector could revive growth. That the former general’s main rival backed such reforms means neither is likely.
Read more »
U.S. asked China for lower ethanol tariffs: agriculture secretaryAgriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Tuesday that U.S. trade negotiators h...
Read more »
Trump's trade war is expected to harm U.S. farm exports by $1.9 billion in 2019“The share of total U.S. agricultural exports to China in value terms is projected to be 6 percent, down sharply, with China falling from the top market in 2017 to fifth place,” USDA Chief Economist Robert Johansson said.
Read more »
How Freight Farms Plans To Grow Sales (And More Veggies) With Its Next-Gen Farm In A BoxFreight Farms, which pioneered hydroponic farms inside of shipping containers, is launching its next-generation farm called the Greenery. It's marketing its product to corporations, universities and small farmers, who want to grow pesticide-free food in a climate-controlled environment.
Read more »
Trump approved operation that disabled Russian troll farmPresident Trump personally signed off on a US military cyber operation that blocked internet access for a Russian troll farm during the 2018 midterm election, multiple sources briefed on the matter tell NBCNews.
Read more »