Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 3/21/19

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday sent a clear signal that raising interest rates is likely off the table for this year, writes Pro's Victoria Guida.

Chairman Jerome Powell has cautioned against reading into the Fed's projections for future rate changes, given major uncertainty about the U.S. economic picture. He suggested the outlook is overall positive, but said growth "is slowing somewhat more than expected."

A reprieve from rate hikes for the rest of 2019 could help some farmers and ranchers, as higher interest rates can make business more expensive for producers who are reliant on certain types of loans to finance their operations.

Then and now: Farmers and ag economists frequently cite relatively low interest rates today as one of the reasons conditions in the industry aren't as bad as as they were during the 1980s farm crisis, despite current problems like declining income, trade turmoil and low commodity prices.

Tom Jensen, senior vice president of lending at First National Bank of Omaha, said "the big help is that interest rates continue to be reasonable," DTN reports.

"Farmers are having losses, but the effects of that don't compare when loans are at 5 percent to 6 percent versus (in the 1980s) when they were in the teens and up to 20 percent," Jensen said.