Farm Loan Changes & Beef Prices Up

Farm Loan Changes & Beef Prices Up

Farm Loan Changes & Beef Prices Up plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the nation's farmers and ranchers are the engine of the rural economy and has announced increased opportunity for producers resulting from the 2014 Farm Bill with the release of information on modifications to farm loan programs. Changes that will take effect immediately include - elimination of loan term limits for guaranteed operating loans; modification of the definition of beginning farmer - using the average farm size for the county as a qualifier instead of the median farm size; modification of the Joint Financing Direct Farm Ownership Interest Rate to two-percent less than regular Direct Farm Ownership rate - with a floor of 2.5-percent; and increase of the guarantee amount on Conservation Loans from 75 to 80-percent and 90-percent for socially disadvantaged borrowers and beginning farmers.

Beef prices have been going up and there are no indications that it will decline anytime soon according to USDA food price economist, Ricky Volpe.

VOLPE: Right now beef prices are on track to increase 3 to 4% on the year so they're already high and they are projected to increase more than most of market prices on the year.

Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray.

A new documentary film on farming is set to be released nationally on May 1st. The film is being viewed in private screenings in several cities this week in celebration of National Ag Week. Produced by award winning director James Moll, "Farmland" features six twenty-something farmers and ranchers from around the U.S. as they chronicle their day to day lives working farms and ranches that have often been passed down through generations. The film received generous support from the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, which consists of nearly 80 farmer and rancher-led organizations and their agricultural partners representing virtually all aspects of agriculture. USFRA works at connecting with consumers who have questions about how their food is grown and raised. Moll says that audiences will hear thoughts and opinions about agriculture from the farmers and ranchers themselves - not from him, and not from corporations. Moll, who admits that he didn't know much about agriculture before this film, says that he found himself immersed in a community of some of the most hard working, passionate people he had ever met while making "Farmland". To view the trailer visit www.farmlandfilm.com.

Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.

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