This article examines longer term trends in general rates and ag input prices. In addition to demand and supply shocks, input prices for ag producers are affected by changes in general inflation. During the 1973 to 2025 period the average annual increase for the implicit price deflator for personal consumption expenditures and the USDA ag price index for production items were 3....

Net interest margins for all commercial banks that reported agricultural loans improved in the fourth quarter of 2025, supported by lower funding costs and higher yields on earning assets. Agricultural banks and community banks that held agricultural loans on their balance sheets continued to report higher yields, lower funding costs, and wider net interest margins than the full...

The January 27, 2026 farmdoc daily raised questions about the performance of the Risk Management Agency (RMA) trend adjustment for Illinois corn and soybean county yields.  Extending that analysis, this…

The ongoing conflict with Iran has resulted in significantly higher nitrogen fertilizer prices as damaged energy infrastructure and closure of the Strait of Hormuz has created supply chain bottlenecks (see…

A small increase in lighter weight hogs partly reflects that December through February pig crop is up 0.6% from a year ago, despite a 1.5% decrease in sows farrowed, which was again more than offset by another record 11.90 pigs per litter for the period or 2.0% more than a year ago. Continued productivity growth should be expected, given historical trends and biological feasibil...