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Mixed economic picture emerging for U.S. agriculture, economist says
An ag economist says the agricultural economy is sending mixed signals for farmers and ranchers.
Ernie Goss is with Creighton University and says, “The economy is just not as strong as we’d like to see. Certainly, it’s stronger than what it potentially could be. It could potentially be much weaker.”
He tells Brownfield the downturn hasn’t hit all farmers equally.
“Farmer delinquency rates are still low, plateauing at less than 1.5%. Some of the other numbers though that I’ve seen coming out, bankruptcies and foreclosures are higher.”
Goss says he has some long-term concerns for the industry.
“A lot of the farmers out there are baby boomers which means a lot of them are reaching the age where they want to move to Arizona or Florida and leave the farm to their heirs. Unfortunately, the heirs are not always taking up the task. That’s a real concern.”
He says many rural bankers in the Midwest have indicated that they support additional financial aid from Congress for the agriculture sector.