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Vilsack tells Ag committee rural economy improving

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the rural economy is improving although there are continued concerns about declining farm prices. He told the House Ag Committee this morning that the current farm economy is NOT what it was in the 1980s, “Debt to equity ratios still remain extraordinarily strong and stable, significantly different than periods of time when we were faced with a significant farm crisis.”

Vilsack testified that increased borrowing is expected and will put some greater reliance and stress on FSA loan programs, especially the loan guarantee program,“The safety net is in place and is, for the most part, working the way it was intended. Five-point-two-Billion dollars in payments were made last year to over 900-thousand producers and it is expected that payments from our safety net programs will increase this year.”

Vilsack told the committee that the rural economy, at large, is improving, in part because of the diversification in the 2014 farm bill. He says there’s lower unemployment and reduced poverty. Vilsack says the median farm income – which includes both ON-farm and OFF-farm jobs – reached a record $81,000 last year.