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Ag lender says farmers are in a good position, for now

The head of GreenStone Farm Credit Services says their members are in a good financial position this year as commodity prices have remained high, but uncertainty and a possible recession could change that.

“We’re projecting pretty good margins across most all of the commodities we finance at least through this year.”

Dave Armstrong tells Brownfield it’s 2023 that could be a cause for concern if high prices persist.

“What will input prices be next year, what will the availability be?” he questions.

One strategy that will help their members across Michigan and Wisconsin Armstrong says was giving interest rate conversions throughout the pandemic offering lower fixed rates.

“Today we probably have 80 percent of our portfolio on some kind of fixed rate, and those rates are fixed at some of the lowest rates in history,” he explains.

If possible, Armstrong recommends farmers continue to lock in inputs and not become aggressive purchasers of farmland or other investments because of the tremendous uncertainty.