Interest Rate and Commodity Price Impacts on Farm-Level Financials
Abstract
The agriculture industry has been around for hundreds of years. Although farmers and ranchers work every day to put food on the tables of billions of people from all around the world, most agricultural producers require assistance to finance their operations and continue production. This research is motivated by recent changes in interest rates and the downturn in agricultural commodity prices. This study examines how farm-level financial statements are impacted by changes in interest rates and agricultural commodity market prices. A Monte Carlo simulation is used to model several stochastic variables and derive key financial calculations. This study shows how the financial statements of different agricultural operations change due to factors that are largely beyond the control of agricultural producers.