In the season finale, we head to Michigan for our last story as we think about the future of the farm financial system. 

Featured Guests: Brent King (B. Riley Advisory Service), Jeff Conrad (AgIS Capital LLC), Thomas Hoenig (Former President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City), Nate Franzen (First Dakota National Bank)

We shift our focus from understanding the past and present to trying to predict and prepare for the future. Experts weigh in with actions that producers can take now as we enter uncharted financial waters… but will they?

Featured Guests: Curt Covington (AgAmerica), Thomas Hoenig (Former President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City), Jim Knuth (Farm Credit Services of America)

When the Federal Reserve adjusts interest rates, it can significantly affect asset values, including farmland. While attention in 2022 has focused on the Fed raising rates, the preceding decades-long policy of extremely low interest rates has also been consequential in the form of asset inflation - the cousin of price inflation.

Featured Guests: Jim Farrell (Farrell Growth Group), Nate Franzen (First Dakota National Bank),  Thomas Hoenig (Former President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City), Jeff Conrad (AgIS Capital LLC)

How does a bank fail? What does “too big to fail” mean? Who audits the Fed? Dive into the connection between money supply and local loans.

Featured Guests: Jim Farrell (Farrell Growth Group), Thomas M. Hoenig (Former President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City)

Why is the U.S. government, and the Department of Agriculture in particular, involved in lending? Dive into how USDA's ag lending programs have shaped the ag economy and farming in general over the last hundred years, and learn what this can tell us about the overall health of the farm financial system.

Featured guests: Jonathan Coppess (Associate Professor, University of Illinois), Heather Malcom (Bank of the Rockies), Mike Boehlje (Purdue University Department of Agricultural Economics).

Vendor financing is nothing new in agriculture. But it has come a long way since the days of Cyrus McCormick. Explore how non-bank credit works, how it has changed, and what risks and opportunities it might pose to the overall agriculture finance system as we move out of two decades of low interest rates.

Featured guests: John Blanchfield (Agricultural Banking Advisory Services), Curt Covington (AgAmerica), Mike Boehlji (Purdue University Department of Agricultural Economics), Nate Franzen (First Dakota National Bank), Jim Farrell (Farrell Growth Group LLC)

How does Farmer Mac fit into the big picture of ag lending? Its story is still being written.

 Featured guests: Brad Nordholm (Farmer Mac), John Blanchfield (Agricultural Banking Advisory Services), Jeff Conrad (AgIS Capital LLC).

Get to know the story of Farm Credit: why it was founded, how it works, and how it has both failed and succeeded.How is the Farm Credit system different from banks? What really sets Farm Credit apart is not how it lends its money, but how it gets funds in the first place. Plus: the story behind the bail out.

Featured guests: Jim Farrell (Farrell Growth Group), Jim Knuth (Farm Credit Services of America), Curt Covington (AgAmerica), Mike Boehlje (Purdue University Department of Agricultural Economics). 

Credit can be a powerful tool. But it also comes with risks. One way to manage that risk is to understand who you're lending from and what their motivations and experiences are. How exactly does an agricultural lender work as a business? How do interest rates impact banking’s business model? Go behind the scenes to crunch the numbers.

Featured guests: Nate Franzen (First Dakota National Bank),  Heather Malcolm (Bank of the Rockies).

Dig deep into the history of agricultural lending, back to the days of the gold standard, the Wizard of Oz as allegory, and one particularly memorable speech by William Jennings Bryan. When you think of a banker, what image comes to mind? Learn why your perceptions might not match reality, especially when it comes to ag lending.

Featured guest: John Blanchfield (Agricultural Banking Advisory Services).