Earlier this month — Feb. 7 to be exact — USDA issued its farm sector profits forecast for 2018. The ag agency’s most recent outlook calls for further declines in net farm income and net cash farm income for the year ahead. But researchers at the University of Illinois Agricultural and Consumer Economics, say that, if past history holds true, the initial forecast is probably somewhat lower than what we’ll see next year at this time.
While farm cash receipts is a good indicator of farmers’ ability to invest in new ag machinery, it’s usually net farm income that tells them to pull the trigger on equipment and other capital purchases.
It’s not getting any easier for farmers to borrow funds for ongoing operations, let alone ag equipment. Farm lenders are taking a much closer look at crop producers’ loan status as concerns about repayment are starting to grow.
In this episode of On the Record, brought to you by Associated Equipment Distributors, we look at President Trump's tariff reduction on ag equipment, the latest dealer sales forecasts, and how high input costs are keeping farmer sentiment down.
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