Center for Agriculture and the Economy
Leveraging expertise from the Kansas City Fed, the Center provides timely analysis of industry developments and conducts ongoing research on the agricultural economy.
Farm Financial Stress Remains Moderate
By Nate Kauffman
October 8, 2026
Farm loan repayment rates have remained slightly weaker than a year ago, but the pace of deterioration has slowed recently alongside a significant increase in crop prices. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s quarterly survey of agricultural credit conditions, the diffusion index for farm loan repayment rates was 82 in the third quarter, indicating some deterioration from a year ago, but not as weak as the previous quarter. Crop prices increased notably from the second quarter to the most recent quarter, with corn and soybean prices up by 8.0% and 7.4%, respectively. The increase in crop prices has led to External Linkimproved profitability among row crop producers despite large increases in costs associated with diesel.
Notes: Farm loan delinquency rate data are sourced from the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Reports) for commercial banks and from Uniform Call Reports filed by agricultural credit associations within the Farm Credit System to the Farm Credit Administration. Farm loan repayment rates are obtained from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Quarterly Survey of Agricultural Credit Conditions and displayed as a diffusion index. The index numbers are computed by subtracting the percentage of survey respondents who responded “lower” from the percentage who responded “higher” and adding 100.
Sources: Commercial Bank Reports of Condition and Income; Farm Credit Administration; Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Survey of Agricultural Credit Conditions
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