Farm Bank Report

Farm Bank Report

Farm Bank Report. I'm Greg Martin with Lacy Gray for Colorado Ag Today.

Farms just can't seem to get along without a good bank and vice versa. The American Bankers Association's has just released their annual Farm Bank Performance Report.

GRAY: According to the report Farm banks significantly increased agricultural lending by 13.6 percent in 2014 and held $94.6 billion in farm loans at the end of the year. Asset quality continued to improve at the nation's 2,036 farm banks as non-performing loans declined to pre-recession levels. At the end of 2014, banks held $161 billion in farm and ranch loans. 

MARTIN: Small and micro loans made up almost half of bank agricultural lending in 2014. A small farm loan is a loan with an original value of $500,000 or less and a micro farm loan is a loan with an original value of $100,000 or less. Farm banks continued to build high quality capital over the year. Equity capital at farm banks increased 4.8 percent to $46.2 billion in 2014, while Tier 1 capital increased by $3.3 billion to $38.8 billion. 

GRAY: The West region's 74 farm banks increased farm loans by 10.9 percent to $9 billion. Ag production loans increased 10 percent and farmland loans rose 11.6 percent. In addition, more than 97 percent of farm banks were profitable in 2014, with 65 percent reporting an increase in earnings.

MARTIN: Farm banks also added more than 2,300 jobs, a 2.8 percent increase, and employed more than 89,000 rural Americans.

And that's Colorado Ag Today. I'm Greg Martin, thanks for listening on the Ag Information Network of the West.

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