Midwest farmers are borrowing more money to stay afloat. That’s because the farm economy is in a rough patch.
Grain prices are low and farm income has fallen for two straight years.
The Kansas City Federal Reserve gathers survey data from banks across the country. It found farmers borrowed around $100 billion in the last quarter of 2015 to keep their operations running.
Farm income is a concern for 2016, but so far the KC Fed says very few farmers are late making loan payments. And after years of high farmland values, most areas saw a modest decline or values holding flat.