Pierre, SD, USA / DRGNews
Feb 12, 2021 6:43 AM
The agriculture economy rebounded in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the latest Ag Credit Survey from the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank.
The average price of grains increased more than 20 percent from the previous quarter and reached six-year highs in December. Livestock prices, while still less than a year ago, also improved from lows reached earlier in the year.
Government payments provided broad support through the year, and, together with recent price increases, the near-term outlook for the farm sector improved dramatically.
The survey represents conditions in the Federal Reserve’s Tenth District, including Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Wyoming. A majority of bankers in the District indicated that farm income was higher than a year ago for the first time in eight years, boosting liquidity and loan repayment capacity and providing renewed support for farm real estate.
-AFBF
Recent higher commodity prices and ongoing ad hoc financial support to offset natural disasters, retaliatory tariffs and coronavirus-related damages have come a little too late for some farmers across the U.S., i.e., 2020 Farm Profitability: A False Positive. The impact of multiple years of low commodity prices and delayed distribution of disaster assistance relief, followed by a global pandemic is visible in recently released caseload statistics from the U.S. Courts, which indicate that Chapter 12 family farm and family fishery bankruptcies totaled 552 filings during 2020, down 43 filings, or 7%, from 2019, but also the third highest over the last decade.
DISTRICT COURT
Filings Drop 7% During 2020, Not Out of the Woods Yet
Recent higher commodity prices and ongoing ad hoc financial support to offset natural disasters, retaliatory tariffs and coronavirus-related damages have come a little too late for some farmers across the U.S., i.e., 2020 Farm Profitability: A False Positive.  The impact of multiple years of low commodity prices and delayed distribution of disaster assistance relief, followed by a global pandemic is visible in recently released caseload statistics from the U.S. Courts, which indicate that Chapter 12 family farm and family fishery bankruptcies totaled 552 filings during 2020, down 43 filings, or 7%, from 2019, but also the third highest over the last decade.