Brent Gloy

In the past decade, Iowa’s cash rental rates peaked at $260 per acre before declining to $230 today.

This is a good indication of the amount of cash that farmers have available to make purchases and repay their short-term debt obligations.

High levels of working capital provide farmers with the financial capacity to easily reinvest in their businesses.

The recent price swings in the commodity markets have had a substantial impact on the expected profitability of corn and soybean farms.

What is interesting about this data is that the recent downturn has not been met by an increase in direct government program payments.

Farmers are positive, but will this match reality?