WICHITA — The nation’s net farm income is the lowest since 2002, and with another year of low commodity prices, demand for agriculture loans is surging as farmers struggle to make ends meet.
Today’s grain prices will bring in enough to pay for basic operating costs like fertilizer, seed and land rent, said Troy Soukup, the past president of Kansas Bankers Association’s Ag Bankers Division. Yet, crop prices are not high enough for farmers to make payments on equipment loans — or even to get paid for their own labor.