Ag Loan Demand Up and NCBA Applauds Paraguayan Beef Ban
From the Ag Information Network, this is your Agribusiness Update.
**Agricultural loan demand increased in 2023, and agricultural lending by U.S. farm banks grew 6.7% to $110 billion.
The American Bankers Association’s annual Farm Bank
Performance Report credits elevated production costs, commodity price volatility, and a return to pre-COVID levels of direct government payments.
The ABA says farm banks continued to enjoy solid performance in 2023, with robust loan growth and historically low delinquency rates.
**The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association thanked the Senate for passing a resolution to block beef imports from Paraguay.
The resolution comes after the USDA lifted the longstanding ban on Paraguayan beef imports despite the country’s concerning animal health track record.
Wyoming rancher and NCBA President, Mark Eisele says our animal health standards are second to none, and we must be vigilant in protecting the U.S. cattle herd from harmful foreign animal diseases.
**Senators Tammy Baldwin, of Wisconsin, and Mike Braun, of Indians, introduced new legislation designed to break down barriers to farming and agricultural land ownership.
The goal would be to help more Americans pursue farming careers.
The bipartisan Farm Transition Act would, for the first time, create a Commission on Farm Transitions to study the issues impacting the transition of agricultural operations to the next generation of farmers and ranchers.
