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A Comprehensive Analysis of Population and Credit Utilization

Ryan Loy, Bruce Ahrendsen, and Ronald Rainey

Summary

Available credit access is important for underserved producers to fund farming operations. This research intends to tabulate total farm (or farmer) numbers by producer groups comprised of minority/socially disadvantaged producers. The tabulation will examine distinct racial, ethnic and gender classifications utilized in the 2012 and 2017 Censuses of Agriculture in terms of total farm operations, farm business organization type, credit eligibility, and whether they are currently engaged in the agricultural loan market. Additionally, farm debt is a critically important source of capital for most U.S. farm businesses, with total farm debt forecasted to be $520 billion in 2023 (USDA 2023). The primary suppliers of farm debt in the United States are the Farm Credit System with 46 percent and commercial banks with 35% of the total market. The potential for credit deserts and limited access to farm debt is of concern to many, particularly among historically underserved farmers and ranchers. The goal is then to establish underserved farming communities within credit deserts as relevant areas of focus for policy development and stakeholder engagement. This research will enhance understanding of changes in the SDFR populations across the 2014 and 2018 farm bills and will explore the access to credit across these producer groups. This work seeks to inform the public policy debate on credit access discussions using secondary data to determine demand and identify trends in credit markets with the goal to better serve producer groups in the SDFR population.

Details

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