DALLAS, Texas (RFD-TV) — Farm finances in the Eleventh Federal Reserve District showed a modest improvement in the third quarter of 2025, helped by widespread summer rains that lifted crop yields and supported pasture conditions. Despite stronger production, bankers reported that low commodity prices continue to pressure farm incomes, especially for row-crop operations entering harvest with several years of weak margins and growing carryover debt. Lenders noted that many farmers are having difficulty preparing 2026 budgets as input costs remain elevated and grain futures remain soft, increasing the likelihood of extended credit and a heavier reliance on government assistance.
Credit conditions reflected these stresses. Loan demand declined during the quarter, even as the availability of funds increased and repayment rates moved only slightly lower. Renewals and extensions continued to rise, suggesting that producers are working to bridge income shortfalls with operating credit. Loan volumes fell across most categories except operating loans. Land markets presented a mixed picture: dryland and ranchland values increased, irrigated land slipped, and cash rents rose for irrigated acres but fell for dryland and ranchland. Bankers also anticipated a downward trend in farmland values heading into winter.
Livestock producers remained a bright spot. Record-high cattle prices continued to bolster ranch incomes and improve repayment strength, creating a clear divide between crop-focused and livestock-focused borrowers as year-end approaches.
Farm-Level Takeaway: Strong yields and higher cattle prices helped stabilize conditions, but weak crop prices and rising carryover debt remain major challenges for Eleventh District farmers.
Tony St. James, RFD-TV Markets Specialist
What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of the split-interest transaction? And what are the rules when property that was acquired in a split-interest transaction is sold? That is the topic of today’s blog post by RFD-TV Agri-Legal Expert Roger McEowen.
November 02, 2023 09:00 AM
·
A split-interest transaction involves one party acquiring a temporary interest in the asset (such as a term certain or life estate), with the other party acquiring a remainder interest. That is the topic of today’s Firm to Farm blog post by RFD-TV Agrilegal Expert Roger A. McEowen.
November 01, 2023 09:00 AM
·
As I try to catch up on my writing after being on the road for a lengthy time, I have several recurring themes in my legal work. Another potpourri of random ag law and tax issues — that is the topic of today’s Firm to Farm blog post by RFD-TV Agrilegal Expert Roger McEowen.
October 31, 2023 02:21 PM
·
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders spoke with RFD-TV’s own Susan Alexander this Monday morning on the Market Day Report to explain Arkansas’s recently passed giving lawmakers greater authority to sanction foreign ag-land ownership within the state.
October 30, 2023 12:51 PM
·
Where the Food Comes From producer Donna Sanders takes us along on a behind-the-scenes look at filming the show’s newest episode, “Clemson Blue,” where university cheesemakers reveal how they put the “blue” in their award-winning blue cheese.
October 26, 2023 09:00 AM
·
It is in there, the mold — those rich blue veins in creamy blue cheese that make you either love it or loathe it — but how does it get there? This bonus scene from “Clemson Dairy,” Season 4, Episode 4 of
Where the Food Comes From, explains how and why that happens.
October 25, 2023 09:00 AM
·
No, it is not some new college course — Clemson has been making blue cheese since 1941, and the product has developed a worldwide following and won some pretty big awards. With good reason — it is fantastic stuff. It is also fascinating to see how it is made. Check out this sneak peek look at the latest episode of Where the Food Comes From, “Clemson Blue.”
October 24, 2023 11:32 AM
·
The machines do all the work at Hickory Hill Milk in South Carolina, and the pampered cows get on-demand service. The team at Where the Food Comes From shares a special, behind-the-scenes account filming the show’s newest episode, Robot Dairy, premiering this Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, at 9:30 p.m. ET on RFD-TV!
October 19, 2023 09:00 AM
·
How does a robot milk a cow?
October 18, 2023 09:00 AM
·
