After months of losses, dairy and pork producers are living off their equity. Some will never recover even if prices rebound in 2010, cautions Bank of the West's Curt Covington. (DTN photo by Marcia Zarley Taylor)
Livestock Woes Raise Ag Bankers' Angst
Voluntary Livestock Liquidations on the Rise, Say Bankers
Tue Nov 17, 2009 11:48 AM CST
Dairy and pork producers have bled equity out of their herds and mortgaged a good portion of their assets. The price recovery in 2010 may come too late to restore some of the most leveraged operators to health, ag bankers warn.
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Swings in fertilizer prices may force more dealers to insist on written contracts. (DTN photo by Greg Horstmeier)
"Don't Contract with the Easter Bunny"
 What Ag Learned From Price ShockSubscriber Content
Thu Nov 19, 2009 03:52 PM CST
The abrupt crash in commodity and fertilizer markets this past year triggered a wave of bankruptcies and frayed partnerships. Handshakes won't be good enough next time, speakers at the National Agricultural Bankers Conference concluded this week.
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Chart by Kim Adrian
DTN Ag Interest Rate SnapshotSubscriber Content
Fri Nov 20, 2009 08:26 AM CST
Track daily moves in farm mortgages and operating credit, based on interest rates supplied by a major farm lender.
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At this stage, pork and dairy producers are "living off their equity." (DTN file photo)
Financial Woes Hit Livestock, Ethanol
Lenders Report More Debt Workouts, Loan LossesSubscriber Content
Thu Nov 5, 2009 11:56 AM CST
The Farm Credit System and other ag lenders are seeing more debt restructuring and higher loan losses in the ethanol, dairy and swine industries due to deterioration in credit quality.
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Drying costs of high-efficiency systems like the one used by Mark Mueller of Waverly, Iowa, can pay for themselves in four years or less. (DTN photo by Elizabeth Williams)
Dryer Grants Available
Get Cash for Clunker Grain DryersSubscriber Content
1 minute ago
You could slash grain drying costs 30 percent or more by installing state-of-the-art systems, and USDA will pay up to 25 percent of the costs to replace your clunker.
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Grim financials for dairy and pork producers are casting a pall over proceedings of the National Agricultural Bankers Conference in San Antonio, Texas, this week. Between sessions titled "Organizing for Loan Workouts," "Stress Testing Your Portfolio," "Farm Service Agency Guarantees--Are They Right for You?" and "Will Your Bank Survive?" many of the 225 farm lenders here seem deeply troubled by what they expect will be a wave of livestock industry failures over the next few months.
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Frustrated Upper Midwest fuel distributors caution the propane situation "could get really ugly" in the next few weeks unless pipeline allocations increase.
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Mike Salisbury, of Lookout Ridge Consulting with offices across the upper Midwest and Plains states, has been an agriculture consultant for over 30 years. But based on the debt workouts he's managing for clients these days, the crisis in the pork and dairy industries dwarfs anything that has gone on in the past, Salisbury told DTN's Elizabeth Williams this week.
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A year ago, farmers and fertilizer dealers were locked in a heated impasse over prices. Some relationships will never be the same. Maybe now's a good time to take stock of the year that shook the input world and how that's impacting the retail chain now.
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More Minding Ag's Business...
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Farmers are the only taxpayers who can use income averaging and dump current income back to rates applicable to the prior three years. (DTN file photo)
Taxlink by Andy Biebl
That Last HourSubscriber Content
11/16 7:18AM
Give yourself flexibility as you prepare your 2009 tax return. Some breaks may celebrate their last hoorah this year.
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Adam Erwin's BFF(Banker Friend Forever) has left, but he hopes to have as good a relationship with his new banker. (DTN graphic by Scott R Kemper)
MBAg by Adam Erwin
My Banker, My BFF Subscriber Content
11/5 8:46AM
His banker put him on the plat book. Now Midwest farmer-columnist Adam Erwin worries how he'll play within the rules since his loan officer left for greener pastures.
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Many dairy and hog loans are in a near-crisis situation. (DTN file photo)
By the Numbers
Ag's Bad Loans on the RiseSubscriber Content
11/6 3:52PM
Livestock's losses set the tone for trouble in the farm economy.
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