Little Change Seen in Interest Rates

Interest expenses for farmers and ranchers have increased slightly. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the interest rates for most types of farm loans at commercial banks increased between one and one-and-a-half percentage points since 2015. Despite ongoing strength in demand for farm loans, the availability of credit is unchanged. Farmland values have seen small decline in the region. In the fourth quarter of 2017, cropland values declined four percent in North Dakota and one percent in Minnesota and South Dakota from a year earlier.