McLean County Farm Bureau

FarmDoc Daily

• Trends in General Inflation and Farm Input Prices
  This article examines longer term trends in general rates and ag input prices. In addition to demand and supply shocks, input prices for ag producers are affected by changes in general inflation. During the 1973 to 2025 period the average annual increase for the implicit price deflator for personal consumption expenditures and the USDA ag […]
• Net Interest Margins of U.S. Commercial Banks Participating in Agricultural Lending Widen in the Fourth Quarter of 2025
  Net interest margins for all commercial banks that reported agricultural loans improved in the fourth quarter of 2025, supported by lower funding costs and higher yields on earning assets. Agricultural banks and community banks that held agricultural loans on their balance sheets continued to report higher yields, lower funding costs, and wider net interest margins […]
• Forecast Performance of RMA Expected Yields
  This study finds that, over 2015-2024, RMA expected, or projected, county yields understated US corn and soybean actual county yields more than for wheat while overstating upland cotton yields. This difference between average projected and actual yields contributed to corn and soybeans having lower payments for simulated 95% Enhanced Coverage Option with Revenue Protection (ECO […]