Posts By: Betsy Urso

Early Exclusive: Rising Debt to Asset Ratios in Ag Raising Red Flags US Farm Report By: Tyne Morgan Interest rates continue to climb, with the Federal Reserve expected to raise the benchmark right one more time yet this year. The rising rates are putting a further strain on farmers. Ag Lender Farmer Mac says increased… Read more »

Early Exclusive of Farmer Mac’s “The Feed” AgriTalk Radio By: Ashley Davenport Today on AgriTalk, representatives from Farmer Mac discuss their latest findings of their quarterly report, “The Feed,” and their insights into interest rates and farm loans in 2019. Farm Journal’s AgTech Expo takes place in less than one month. Keynote speakers Josh Henritig… Read more »

Takach: Good US Economy Typically Bad for Ag Economy DRGNews.com By: Jody Heemstra The 2018 ABA National Agricultural Bankers Conference is underway in Omaha. Director of Economic Research and Business Innovation at Farmer Mac Jackson Takach says the general overview of farm economy heading into 2019 is reminiscent of going into 2018. To view the… Read more »

Growers Look Ahead to 2019; Corn and Soybean Price Outlook Hoosier Ag Today By: Eric Pfeiffer As growers wrap up the 2018 harvest, many are already looking forward to the 2019 growing season. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about next year. Will there be a farm bill? Will we be able… Read more »

We firmly believe that sharing information and insight is extremely important, particularly in changing economic times such as these. To that end, for the last two years, we have teamed up with the American Bankers Association to survey a broad number of ag lenders regarding their local economic and lending conditions. Through the questionnaire, ag… Read more »

Three Downturn Survival Tips From An Experienced Banker Dairy Herd Management By: Anna-Lisa Laca Curt Covington joined Farmer Mac in 2015 and serves as executive vice president, agricultural finance. ( Farm Journal ) Farmers throughout the agriculture industry are struggling. Low commodity prices and higher fixed costs make it tough to eke out a profit…. Read more »

Gray-Haired Banker Advice AgWeb Powered by Farm Journal By: Sara Schafer “Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget,” says Curt Covington, executive vice president and chief credit officer with Farmer Mac. “If you show me your budget, I’ll tell you what you value.” This frank and realistic view from Covington is a… Read more »

4 Tips To Secure An Operating Loan TopProducer By: Anna-Lisa Laca It’s no secret that farmers across the country continue to struggle. In fact, 31% of bankers who participate in Creighton University’s August Rural Mainstreet Index reported rejecting a higher percentage of farm loans than they did in July. Jim Moriarty a dairy specialist with… Read more »