From the Fields: A Look Back at the 2024 WBA Ag Bankers Conference
By Craig Rogan, Nicolet National Bank
As I reflect on the WBA Agricultural Bankers Conference held on April 11-12th with my fellow 108 bankers that attended, I am reminded of the expertise exhibited in Agriculture at this conference. It was refreshing to see some younger faces at this year’s conference as well.
My personal favorite speaker Eric Snodgrass did not disappoint with his knowledge of weather, although he reminded us that his prediction at the 2023 conference was inaccurate in the Midwest and specifically Wisconsin. Eric doesn’t believe the Midwest will be as dry as some are predicting. He stated he believes it will be dryer around harvest time in the Midwest and depending on when that occurs, will determine if it has an effect on yield.
Doug Johnson with Moody’s Analytics enlightened us on what’s swimming under the waves. He discussed staying size relevant as technology such as AI continue to make way into the Ag sector. He discussed the pros and cons of AI. An increased use of AI could produce an increase in job losses and privacy violations to name a couple of specific examples. The positives of AI could also allow for a progression in medical advancements and faster data analysis. Doug touched on Lab food and how farmers are more efficient at producing a sustainable supply of food compared to food grown in a lab. Doug is a strong advocate for Agriculture and shared “Since I can’t bring the City to the Farm, I’ll bring the Farm to the City.”
Mike North of Ever.Ag discussed the result of higher interest rates and the added cost of holding inventories. In regards to exports, Mexico has been able to keep up with a strong US dollar which has helped as the Chinese Yuan value declines.
Peggy Coffeen of Uplevel Dairy spoke with Pauly Paul of Complete Management Consulting LLC and gave us a glimpse into her Bi-weekly Agricultural podcast. Pauly went over several examples of farms that were in search of guidance to improve profitability on their farm. He discussed operation changes that were made to allow for profitability through reduction in labor, lower feed cost, increase production and expense modification.
Ed Elfmann of ABA spoke about the ACRE Act and how that impacts banks cost and could lower interest rates ½%. The approval of ACRE Act levels the playing field with Farm Credit by not being taxed on income derived from interest earned on real estate loans. He discussed the upcoming farm bill as it came due in Sept. of 23 with an extension to Sept. 24. Farm debt continues to increase as well as the age of farmers which currently is 58.1 years old. He touched on the bird flu with milk production dropping 10 to 20% with cows affected by the bird flu. This drop in production has been approximately a 14-day cycle.
Lorenzo Cruz and Tyler Foti of WBA gave us a Wisconsin Legislature update and how the new district maps will affect Republican and Democratic representation in the house.
Thank you to our 16 exhibitors that help make this conference possible.
- Ag Resource Management
- Bankers’ Bank
- Ever.ag
- Farmer Mac
- FHN Financial
- FIPCO
- Growers Edge
- Hanson Auction Group
- Michael Best & Friedrich LLP
- Peoples Company
- ProAg Bank
- Purple Wave Auction
- Steffes Group Inc.
- USDA Farm Service Agency
- USDA Rural Development
- Wisconsin Farm Center
Rogan is vice president – agricultural banking officer at Nicolet National Bank in Stevens Point. Rogan also serves as the 2023–2024 Chair of the WBA Agricultural Bankers Section Board of Directors.
