In downward cycle, Ag’s impact felt on Main Street
Main Street businesses in the Plains are feeling the pinch of lower commodity prices while producers throughout the Farm Belt are watching their pennies, said quarterly reports from three regional Federal Reserve banks.
First yearly decline in Midwest farmland value since 1986
"Good" farmland declined in value by 3 percent in the central Corn Belt during 2014, "marking the first yearly decline since 1986," said the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, based on a survey of bankers. The largest decline was 7 percent in Iowa. "Half of the respondents expected farmland values to fall during the January through March period of 2015," said the Chicago Fed in its quarterly Ag Letter. Only 1 percent of lenders "remained hopeful that farmland values would rise in the areas surrounding their respective banks."
Ranchland value rising, cropland is steady or declining
Cropland values are steady or starting to erode while ranch and pasture land is rising in value, say agricultural bankers in the Midwest and central Plains.
Main Street begins to feel the pinch of lower farm income
Farmers and ranchers are tightening their purse strings and spending less in town, say farm bankers across the Farm Belt. With farm income down due to sharply lower commodity prices, cutbacks are expected to continue into the fall at a minimum.