A new poll of senior leaders from Midwest Farm Credit lenders by AgriBank shows commodity prices are the greatest challenge facing farm operators. The poll says Farm Credit lenders are responding to the challenge by providing services to restructure the financial situations for farmers. The poll, which was conducted the week of July 11, was announced Monday at the Ag Media Summit in St. Louis, MO. The poll shows 69 percent of senior credit and risk officers from the 17 Farm Credit Associations in the AgriBank District selected commodity prices as the top challenge. The next biggest challenges were input costs, credit availability, and adverse weather effects.
When asked about the support they are providing to help farmers face those challenges, 86 percent said they are rebalancing borrower debt to bolster working capital. AgriBank is one of the largest banks within the national Farm Credit System, with nearly $100 billion in total assets.
Source: NAFB News Service