- Overall index moves above growth neutral for the 10th time in past 12 months.
- Bankers project negative cash flow (losses) for more than one in six grain farmers.
- More than half of bankers have boosted collateral requirements for farm loans due to low agricultural income
- One-fourth of bank CEOs have made no change in farm lending practices due to weak farm income.
- Approximately one in 10 bank CEOs project 2019 farm loan defaults to rise by over 10 percent over 2018 levels.
Overall: The overall index climbed to 54.2 from November’s 49.9, its first sub-growth neutral reading since January 2018. The index ranges between 0 and 100 with 50.0 representing growth neutral.
“Our surveys over the last several months indicate the Rural Mainstreet economy is expanding outside of agriculture. However, the negative impacts of tariffs and low agriculture commodity prices continue to weaken the farm sector,” said Ernie Goss, PhD, Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business.
Larry Winum, CEO of Glenwood State Bank in Glenwood, Iowa, said, “Glad to see Congress passed a bipartisan farm bill. (It) allows farmers and their community bankers to budget more accurately in the future.”