The Federal Reserve released its August Beige Book update, a summary of commentary on current economic conditions from the Fed. The report includes several observations on the U.S. agricultural economy.
Drought was affecting several of the Fed’s districts across the country. In the Tenth District, the Kansas City Fed says the farm economy was strong, but conditions softened alongside lower commodity prices and persistent drought. In the Eleventh District in Dallas, a significant portion of the district entered or re-entered drought during the past six weeks. In the Minneapolis Fed’s Ninth District, prices were retreating to levels that could be below break-even for some producers because of high input costs.
In the Eighth District of St. Louis, the percentage of cotton and rice rated fair or better stayed stable despite record-breaking heat and heat-dome-induced thunderstorms. In the Twelfth District of San Francisco, conditions in the agriculture and resource-related sectors remained largely unchanged.
