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2015 First Quarter

2015 First Quarter


According to our latest survey, respondents indicated that farm income, farm household spending, and expenditures on capital equipment continued to decline in the first quarter relative to the same period a year earlier. A larger proportion of bankers expect further declines in these three categories in the second quarter, measured from a year earlier. The average value of quality farmland and cash rents of quality farmland declined in the first quarter relative to a year ago. A majority of bankers expect quality farmland values and cash rents to decline further in the second quarter of 2015 from its value a year earlier. The demand for loans increased in the first quarter, but loan repayment rates declined in the first quarter compared with a year earlier; similar conditions are expected to prevail in the second quarter. Interest rates on most loan types were little changed in the first quarter compared with the previous quarter. For this survey, we asked two special questions about farmland leases. The results suggest that the percentage of farmers walking away from committed leases this year is expected to be relatively small; the vast majority of bankers see little or no impact on their bank or their customers.