Farms

Crop Insurance Priority 1

Crop Insurance: Priority #1, by Agri-Pulse Communications No matter who wins this November’s presidential election, one of the first items facing a new Secretary of Agriculture will be developing a 2018 farm bill, a process sure to begin early in 2017. As we start that effort, it is worth noting that for all its rich diversity, American agriculture seems to be united behind a few large overarching issues: coordinated and scientific regulatory policy by EPA, FDA, and USDA; healthy trade promotion; biotechnology; and farm labor issues, including immigration. READ ENTIRE ARTICLE  

A Positive Take On Land Values

Expect Land Equilibrium Marcia Zarley Taylor, DTN Executive Editor LOUISVILLE, Ky. (DTN) — U.S. agriculture could dodge the long-feared collapse in farm real estate prices this commodity cycle, contend economists, lenders and appraisers attending a Farm Foundation meeting this week. But some cautioned the bubble more likely to burst will be used farm equipment values over the next year if profit margins don’t improve. “Land values haven’t seen near the pullback that everyone predicted,” observed Bruce Sherrick, director of the TIAA-CREF Center for Farmland Research at the University of Illinois. That moderation makes sense, he added, given that farmland investors …

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It Is Not About Your Equity

by Peter Martin | AgWeb.com Like most farmers, the bulk of your net worth is likely in the equity of your ground. But you might have discovered a “land rich” net worth, even a sizeable one, doesn’t assure banks will approve a loan renewal. Generally speaking, ag lenders are cash-flow lenders. Like you, they don’t like low commodity prices. While your net worth is important to them, they’re far more interested in a positive cash flow that allows loan payments to be made as agreed. That’s not easy today. Many of you are struggling to pencil out a breakeven, let …

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