USDA’s 2012 Agricultural Outlook Forum, Feb. 23-24, will present 25 breakout sessions, including Agricultural Financial Markets and Investment focusing on patterns of financial investment in U.S. agricultural assets, changes in the types of lenders serving the agriculture sector, and the economics of land prices. Session speakers will be John Blanchfield, Senior Vice President, Center for Agricultural and Rural Banking American Banker’s Association; Dr. Brent Gloy, Associate Professor and Director of Center for Commercial Agriculture, Purdue University; and John Hays, Senior Vice President–Policy Analysis and Development, Farm Credit Council. These are the topics they will address:
The Changing Agricultural Credit Landscape
Farmers today have a wide and growing range of options for obtaining credit, including from many of the world’s largest companies and financial institutions. This presentation will describe why and how the commercial banking sector and global financial firms are competing aggressively to serve agricultural credit markets.
The Economics of Agricultural Land Markets
Strong commodity prices and growing farm incomes are supporting the price of productive farm land at historically high levels, leading some observers to suggest a “bubble” is underway. This presentation will explore the economic rationale for land price swings, and discuss whether current price patterns are likely to persist or falter.
The Future of Cooperative Lending: The U.S. Farm Credit System
The Farm Credit System was founded in 1916 and remains one of the primary sources of credit to U.S. farmers and rural businesses. This presentation will focus on the mission and outlook for the farm credit system as competition from the commercial banking sector intensifies.
To learn more and register for the Forum, please go to: http://www.usda.gov/oce/forum/