Agriculture loans increased in the fourth quarter along with lowering profits for crop producers, according to the national Survey of Terms of Bank Lending to Farmers issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Most of the gains were from borrowing for current operating expenses.
Farm loan debt—outstanding as of Sept. 30—was 6.7 percent higher than a year earlier.
The report says lending to livestock producers was significantly higher than last year as cow-calf operators expanded to rebuild beef herds.
Agricultural bankers reported sufficient funds were available to satisfy a rise in loan demand but also pointed to some “deterioration in loan repayment rates and indicated collateral requirements had tightened slightly.”
The survey of ag bankers in the Midwest, Plains and Mountain States was conducted during the first full week of November 2014.
Source: www.brownfieldagnews.com