Interest Rates
Higher energy activity likely keeps fuel and fertilizer costs elevated.
Farm CPA Paul Neiffer provided guidance on navigating the R&D tax credit, emphasizing record-keeping, eligibility, and maximizing potential savings as crop margins remain the key pressure point for farmers.
Tony Adkins with Specialty Risk Insurance addresses current market challenges for farmers and ranchers and offers strategies to help producers navigate risk.
Farm CPA Paul Neiffer explains the updates to crop insurance subsidies, additional benefits for new farmers, and eligibility considerations for those entering the program.
Strong cattle markets are masking ongoing financial stress across crop agriculture.
Protecting Input Investments: Fertilizer Strategies During a Year of Falling Prices and Rising Costs
Falling commodity prices and rising costs continue to squeeze farm margins. Kip Jacobs with The Mosaic Company addresses fertilizer market pressures, nutrient use efficiency, and strategies growers can consider to protect their fertilizer investment this season.
Nick Westgerdes of the American Society of Farm Managers & Rural Appraisers breaks down farmland values, rental rates, and sales trends in Illinois, while previewing the upcoming land values conference for 2026.
Cash flow management and lender communication are becoming critical survival tools for farmers as tightening margins increase risk and borrowing pressure.
Federal aid helps, but producers will bear most of the losses. Balance sheets may look stable, but margins remain fragile without policy support.
Tight storage could widen basis and limit marketing flexibility.
AFBF Economist Samantha Ayoub discusses the latest data on Chapter 12 farm bankruptcy filings and what the troubling trend signals for the farm economy. At the same time, bigger loans and higher rates are squeezing working capital and increasing financial risk.
Agriculture remains a key drag on regional growth amid weak prices and policy uncertainty.
Bankruptcy filings reflect prolonged margin pressure, rising debt, and limited financial flexibility across farm country. Bigger operating loans are helping farms manage costs, but they also signal growing reliance on borrowed capital.
Modest rate relief may come late in 2026, but borrowing costs are likely to stay elevated.
Livestock strength is carrying the farm economy, while crop margins remain tight and increasingly dependent on risk management and financial discipline.
Strong balance sheets still matter, but liquidity, planning, and lender relationships are critical as ag credit tightens, according to analysis from AgAmerica Lending.
CoBank’s 2026 Year Ahead Report cites global grain oversupply, easing inflation, rate cuts, and major data center growth that could reshape rural America.
Credit stress is building for row-crop farms despite steady land values and slight price improvements.
Working capital is tightening for crop farms, increasing reliance on operating loans even as land values steady in the broader sector.
Strong yields and higher cattle prices helped stabilize conditions, but weak crop prices and rising carryover debt remain major challenges for Eleventh District farmers.
Farmland values remain stable, but weakened credit conditions and lower expected farm income signal tighter financial margins heading into 2026.