AgriNovus hosts podcast: Farm Credit Mid America VP talks technology, economics

INDIANAPOLIS — The pressure in the ag economy is real — and farmers are feeling it, said Natasha Cox, senior vice president of Farm Credit Mid-America.

AgriNovus hosted Cox on its latest podcast episode. She discussed new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showing that net cash farm income decreased roughly 3.5% from 2023 into 2024, adjusted for inflation.

The good news is net cash farm income is still above average compared to the last 20 years of USDA data.

“The pressure is real because of the volatility and the uncomfortableness of the global economy — regulations, export markets and tariffs,” she said. “I think the uncertainty is fueling more of the fear than the facts.

“If you look back to 2017, there was a steep increase (in net cash farm income) to 2022. We start a fairly steep decline from ‘22 to ‘24. In 2025, we see a flattening projection in that. But at the end of the day those numbers are still well above average.”

Technology On The Farm

Cox also discussed what technologies she’s “on fire” about — specifically technology that will help farmers be more efficient and successful.

“I’m on fire for some FinTech solutions that are out there,” she said. “Operational efficiency comes from understanding the flow of money, goods and services within your business.

“Your traditional, handwritten balance sheet and P&L is awesome, but there are a lot of things and companies out there to help you do things differently to run your business.”

She also mentioned Copilot — an artificial intelligence-powered tool that can help farmers make decisions.

“Copilot has been really fun to play with on the farm,” she said. “Start experimenting with those things. What that will never replace are the subject matter experts you go to for the hardest, most complicated things that you need.

“But if you’re on the farm, start experimenting with some of the AI and data models out there and intelligent document processing. You might be surprised with the operational efficiency you gain from it.”

Listen to the podcast at https://tinyurl.com/Agbioscience-Podcast.