The CEO of the Farm Credit Administration is “cautiously optimistic” the financial picture for agriculture could improve this year as trade agreements enter into force and interest rates are expected to remain low. “It may take patience, but at least the groundwork has been laid for trade normalization and improved farm prices,” Glen Smith told the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.
He said that means it is “too early” to know if there should be 2020 Market Facilitation Program (MFP) effort. Smith and Jeffery Hall, a Farm Credit Administration board member, appeared before the subcommittee regarding the independent agency’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 budget request of $81 million.
In the third quarter of 2019, Smith said the share of adverse loan quality was 7.4% compared with data from the Farm Credit System putting that at 6.6% at the end of 2018. Nonperforming loans for the third quarter remained below one percent while delinquent loans were at 0.3%.
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