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Economist: Ag economy is still struggling

Among those testifying at Thursday’s Senate Ag Committee hearing on the state of the ag economy was Nathan Kauffman, an ag economist with the Kansas City Federal Reserve.

Kauffman said that despite recent signs of stabilization in some areas, farm income has continued to decline overall due to persistently low commodity prices and elevated production costs.

“Alongside the reduction in farm income in the past four years, agricultural credit conditions have weakened steadily and farm real estate values have trended lower,” Kauffman said. “In general, we expect those downward trends to continue in the near term as global supplies are likely to continue to weigh on agricultural commodity prices and profit margins.”

Kauffman says although a farm crisis does not appear imminent, some regions appear to be notably weaker than others. He says there are still risks that could lead to more widespread challenges in the coming years.

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