Ken Rahjes

China’s push to shift its food import sources since 2018 has put it in a better position to impose tit-for-tat tariffs on U.S. farm goods with less harm to its food security if trade friction with Washington flares after the U.S. presidential election.

Farmers are taking out loans at a rate and scale not seen in years as weakened crop prices weigh on the agricultural sector, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The volume of new operating loans increased at its fastest pace since 2017, the report said, with commercial banks issuing 40% more of these loans to farmers over last year. Farmers are not only taking out more loans, but also borrowing higher amounts.

By Mary Sullivan, K-State Research and Extension news service Kansas net farm income is projected to decline in 2024, according to a report from the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center (RaFF). The center, working with Kansas State University agricultural economists from Kansas State University, said in its Fall 2024 Kansas Farm Income Outlook that Kansas’ 2024 net farm income is estimated at $4.69 billion.