Rising Interest Rates, Another Threat to Producers
With you Southeast Regional Ag News, I am Haylie Shipp. This is the Ag Information Network.
Rising interest rates are among the lesser-discussed threats farmers face to their bottom line, but it’s one that got attention at a recent farm bill hearing. Fuel, fertilizer, and chemicals get most of the attention among soaring farm input costs. But rising interest rates are also taking a bite out of producers’ bottom lines…
“Credit could potentially become too expensive for producers.”
Central Illinois Congresswoman and farmer Mary Miller asked farm bill hearing witnesses how that would impact them. American Soybean Association head Daryl Cates…
“Rising interest rates are, especially for a beginning farmer, going to be huge. Just my operating loan from Farm Credit, now, has jumped to eight-and-a-quarter percent.”
American Sugar Cane League Chair Patrick Frischhertz…
“As a younger farmer, really just starting out, it’s been a major hurdle to overcome. With rising interest rates, we will see younger farmers not have the ability to purchase the equipment they need to enter the industry.”
Daniel McMillan for the U.S. Peanut Federation says as credit becomes tighter, “I may be looking for something else to do.”
