Katie Dehlinger

The Federal Reserve's latest interest rate cut is welcome news to farmers, even though it's expected to provide little relief from the larger pressures on farm incomes.

Farm Aid held its annual festival on Sept. 21 in New York state. For the past 39 years, well-known music performers that have included Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp have focused on the challenges as well as the accomplishments of family farmers.

The Federal Reserve cut benchmark interest rates by a half percentage point on Wednesday, shifting its concerns from inflation to containing unemployment. Farmers, like most business owners, will only feel the relief slowly.

The Kansas City Federal Reserve said demand for non-real estate farm loans is climbing at the fastest rate since 2016. Farmers hope the Federal Reserve's pivot to a rate-cutting environment will provide some relief.

September 2024 Recent Farmland Sales

A mistake many farmers make when retiring is not making a distinction between transition and retirement.

A north-central Missouri property's mix of 650 tillable acres, pasture and woodland drew many interested buyers, but the well-attended auction also cast a spotlight on the seller: Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods, Missouri's largest foreign agricultural landowner.

The DTN Digital Yield Tour estimates Nebraska corn yields will average 198 bushels per acre in 2024, which would set a new state record. Soybeans are expected to average 61.8 bpa.

The DTN Digital Yield Tour projects Missouri corn yields at 170 bushels per acre and soybean yields at 49.7 bpa. While DTN and USDA are close on soybeans, USDA thinks Missouri farmers will harvest an average 181 bpa on corn, tying last year's record.

The DTN Digital Yield Tour estimates a 191-bushel-per-acre average corn yield in Ohio, with Greene County topping the charts at 205 bpa and Carroll County bringing up the rear at 152 bpa.