Despite a slow economy and challenges to find additional revenue sources, the agriculture industry had a strong performance in 2012 with a favorable outlook looming for the future.
U.S. agricultural banks increased farm and ranch lending by 13.9%, or $10 billion, in 2012. By the end of the year, AG banks held $81.8 billion, according to the American Bankers Association’s annual farm bank performance report.
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Farm loans rose in the Northeast by 10% to $350 billion, with agriculture production loans up 11.3% and farmland loans increasing by 9.3%. Meanwhile, the South region improved profitability and saw an uptick in farm loans by 3.7% rising to $6.1 billion throughout the course of the year.
Other geographic areas that experienced an uptick in farm loan production include the Cornbelt region, the Plains and the West.
Furthermore, the nation’s 2,215 farm banks added more than 3,615 jobs representing growth of 4.2%. A total of 90,569 rural Americans were hired to work in the agriculture industry in 2012.
The Cornbelt hired the most new employees with 37,200 workers, followed by the Plains with 33,800, the South hired 11,200 and the West brought in 7,500 men and women.
“The continued growth in farm loans demonstrates the important role banks play in the success of farms and ranches both large and small,” said John Blanchfield, senior vice president and director of ABA’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Banking. “Banks remain the most important source of agriculture credit holding more than half of all farm loans. As vital, tax-paying members of their communities, farm banks provide funding to support rural Americans, while adding jobs and boosting the agricultural economy.”
