Loan delinquencies and other signs of repayment problems are expected to increase in 2017 among farmers and ranchers. Politico’s Morning Agriculture Report says in spite of that, the farm credit system should be able to weather the downturn in the Ag economy.
That was the message Farm Credit Administration CEO and board chair Dallas Tonsager gave to members of the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee this week. The Farm Credit Administration oversees the banks in the farm credit system. Lawmakers were looking for some assurances that the farm economy isn’t headed for a disaster on par with the 1980’s farm crisis that put tens of thousands of farmers out of business. Young farmers just starting out are the biggest concern for the administration as they don’t have capital and valuable assets built up yet. Tonsager says lenders in the Farm Credit System have a $242 billion portfolio and expect delinquency rates to remain relatively low. He also notes there are more checks in place to ensure that something like the farm crisis of the 1980’s doesn’t repeat itself.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.