30+ Variables an Ag Lender Should Understand

Farmland continues to be a strong asset as land values grow, and farmers and landowners continue to seek capital to manage rising operating costs. This trend will likely continue – and banks should take note.

However, ag lending is much more complex than other markets and requires an enormous amount of data. Banks must go beyond FICO scores, employment verification and financial statements, and consider farm production information and other data, none which is either standardized or structured for ease of use.

In this Bank Business News article, Jim O’Brien discusses the five main data categories and over 30 data variables banks must assess on farm loans, as well as the importance for banks to invest in data services that scale across their portfolio and utilize the latest tools in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), which can accurately identify and replicate field-level patterns and generate a field-level risk analysis unique and specific to an agriculture portfolio.

Read the full article here!