Inflation was up in July for the first time in a year.
It was led by a rebound in energy and travel costs, with a 7 percent jump in fuel prices from June to July. American Farm Bureau Economist Roger Cryan talks more about the impact of these prices and the continued high cost of borrowing on agriculture.
“When it’s planting season and harvest season, they’ve got to pay the price today, and that’s a big expense for farmers. One of the biggest. The rates right now are very high, the highest they’ve been in over ten years. Actually, the highest they’ve been in about 15 years. So, with these higher rates, farmers are going to be facing higher costs of credit in the short run, and we’re worried that we’ll be talking about the burden of debt in the years to come.”
Cryan says he blames the Federal Reserve for the tightening credit too much. He says farmers are paying 7, 8, and 9 percent for operating loans, which is well above rates seen just a few years ago.
