McLean County Farm Bureau

FarmDoc Daily

• Assessing the Capital Adequacy of U.S. Commercial Banks Participating in Agricultural Lending
  In 2023, we witnessed three of the four largest bank failures in US history: First Republic Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank. These high-profile collapses serve as a stark reminder of the importance of maintaining adequate capital ratios and implementing effective risk management practices. Despite these high-profile failures, the banking industry has demonstrated resilience […]
• How Big is the U.S. Cattle Herd?
  With the USDA cancelling its regularly scheduled July cattle inventory report, how big the U.S. cattle herd is is a question that many would like to have answered. Fortunately, historical relationships between changes in prior and subsequent inventories and levels of cow slaughter in between or heifers’ share of cattle on feed offer some indication. […]
• US Federal Debt, Interest Outlays, and the Farm Safety Net
  Large increases have occurred in US Federal Government debt since the financial crisis of 2008 and in Federal interest outlays since 2016. Debate is likely to intensify over what is the appropriate share of current government spending to devote to past government spending through interest payments on the Federal debt. The likelihood of this debate […]