Agricultural lenders across northern states are closely watching the rising commodity prices. “As a result of those high prices, we expect strong farm income growth through the end of 2022,” said Joe Mahon, regional outreach director, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. “We’re conducting our first quarter survey now, it will be released in May, but all indications show strong farm income continuing this year. We’ve seen strong growth in land prices and the Russia-Ukraine war is having a major impact on commodity prices.” Mahon thinks the biggest challenges facing northern farmers is the greater uncertainties surrounding those prices. “It’s not just that prices are higher, but they’ve been more volatile over the past few years. Farmers are good at managing risk, but it may be extra challenging now with rising input costs and what happens when commodity prices go down.”
