Writer: Cara Roberts Murez

Outlook brightens for farmers, less so for ag lenders

As they near the end of 2021, many community ag bankers say their farm clients are feeling optimistic. Commodity prices — from corn to dairy — look favorable. Low interest rates are driving the price of farmland in some areas, but expansion is an obstacle in others. Some of the sunnier projections for the coming year are partially offset by higher costs for feed, fertilizer and fuel. Farmers are hedging by locking in fertilizer prices early, and doing so with help from banks. [Continue]

Helping others is journey and destination for CCB

Chickasaw Community Bank has been able to fold its support of the larger community into its goals while keeping an eye to the bottom line. When talking about their work, leadership and staff frequently call CCB mission-driven. “As part of our mission, we’re really committed to our local community and our community at large,” said CEO T.W. Shannon. [Continue]

Chickasaw Community Bank leverages HUD expertise as it diversifies

In 2017, when former Oklahoma state legislator T.W. Shannon took a leadership role at Bank2, one of just a few Native American-owned banks in the United States, his industry experience was limited, the bank had a small footprint, and it had an uninspiring name. So much has changed since then. Bank2 is now Chickasaw Community Bank, a change made in January of 2020 in a nod to its origins and ownership by the Chickasaw Nation. Shannon, now CEO, is driving a notable transformation. [Continue]

Where is the industry headed in 2021?

Rows of soy plants in a field

From weather disasters and a pandemic to an increased use of technology that is helping farmers control their own destinies, ag bankers in central states experienced a lot in 2020. Now they look ahead to what 2021 holds, expecting more of the same challenges and uncertainty. [Continue]

Low commodity prices continue to haunt ag

The year began with some optimism on grain prices and improved trade conditions with China, Canada, Mexico and other countries. Then COVID-19 hit in March and everything changed. Commodity prices for crops and livestock dropped rapidly; ag banking experts from across the region weigh in on the local impact. [Continue]

Weather, mental health complicate agriculture

With pressure already exerted by years of low commodity prices, trade uncertainties and pandemic complications, farmers and ranchers in the central states faced a year of difficulties in 2020. Weather varied across the region, and Iowa notably endured the effects of a derecho storm in August that caused billions in damage.  [Continue]

COVID-19 roils the ag economy

Although farmers and ranchers are resilient and used to adversity, all aspects of their lives and industries have been affected to some degree by COVID-19, whether mentally or physically. Here, regional ag banking experts way in on the impact of the pandemic and the economic downturn have had on the country’s ag industry. [Continue]

Farms yield uncertainty for ag bankers

2020 has been a year of great uncertainty and extreme swings in the ag economy. The year started out with some optimism on grain prices and improved trade conditions with China, Canada, Mexico and other countries. Then COVID-19 hit in March and everything changed. [Continue]

Agricultural roundup

Rows of soy plants in a field

In late 2019, when ag bankers reflected on the year and forecast expectations for 2020, they foresaw classic perennial challenges: bad weather and low commodity prices. What 2020 actually delivered would have been hard to predict. No one has been immune from the struggles the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought on the nation’s health or the economy, including farmers and their community banking partners. [Continue]

Workforce under stress

As the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the United States to a crisis point this spring, leaders at banks worked to figure out what was next for their businesses and their staff. Balancing the bottom line with staffing needs has required collaboration and breaking teams out of silos — from a safe distance — while also relying on HR staff’s already established relationships inside the bank. [Continue]