Fed: Ag Sector Recovery Well Underway

The Federal Reserve Beige Book is published eight times each year and is intended to show changes in economic conditions over time across all 12 Fed districts. For many districts, that includes a lot on agriculture, and the latest Beige Book update released this week shows the breadth of the general ag sector’s recovery. The ag professionals — ranging from market analysts and economists to community organizations and producers themselves — contributing to the report indicated with a few exceptions mainly in the Southeast, most expected farm incomes to be strong this year in both the crop and livestock sectors. While things have improved, optimism looking ahead is less consistent, especially where drought continues to pressure productivity. And while high grain prices are helping improve overall ag credit conditions, they could start to weigh heavily on the livestock sector moving further into 2021, this week’s report shows. See a wrap-up and read the full Beige Book report.

Fed: Ag Sector Recovery Well Underway