Search Results
Journal Article
Tight Labor Markets Have Been a Key Contributor to High Food Inflation
Food inflation remains higher than measures of overall inflation, and labor markets have been tight. We find that processed food products have driven recent increases in grocery prices, and we argue that labor market tightness affects the prices of these labor-intensive products in particular through increases in production and distribution costs. Food inflation at grocery stores could remain elevated if price pressures on the supply side persist and demand for food at home remains strong.
Journal Article
Not Bullish: U.S. Cattle Herds Hung Up on Higher Interest Expenses
Cattle inventories declined to historically low levels at the start of 2024. Cattle producers may facechallenges maintaining or restocking herds, as higher interest expenses on cattle and input purchases in2022–23 have constrained profit margins. Although feed costs have decreased slightly, higher costs forfinancing and other operating expenses could continue to put pressure on cattle production andprofitability.
Journal Article
Interest Expenses on Farmland Debt Could Challenge Farm Profitability
From 2021 through 2023, farmland values and then interest rates grew, raising interest expenses for cropproducers. These higher interest expenses could considerably reduce returns for producers with high levelsof land debt. These producers may need large cash down payments to reach profitability with new orrefinanced debt.
Working Paper
The Supply and Demand of Agricultural Loans
Credit plays a critical role in the agricultural sector, but many studies suggest that farmers are credit constrained. We examine the degree to which changes in non-real-estate agricultural loans at commercial banks are driven by changes in supply and demand, using information provided by agricultural lending surveys conducted by the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago, Kansas City, and Minneapolis. Building on recent studies of loan officer opinion surveys, we estimate the changes in agricultural loan supply and demand using an unbalanced panel of 1,024 banks across 191 quarters ...
Journal Article
Agricultural Economic Summit Highlights Growing Connection Between Agriculture and Energy
The agriculture and energy sectors have become more tightly connected as renewable energy increases demand for input crops and creates alternative income opportunities for farms. Industry experts underscored these links at the Kansas City Fed’s Agricultural Economic Summit in May. Despite some longer-run uncertainties, Summit participants expect energy investments and developments to have a significant influence on the future structure of ag and commodity markets.