Farm Income’s Impact on the Midwest Economy
While farm income has long been an important driver of midwestern economic activity, the influence of the agricultural sector had been waning until the boom in crop prices of 2004–13. More recently, a reversal in crop prices, along with other factors, has led incomes from crop farming to decline. Against this backdrop, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago held a conference on November 17, 2014, to examine the role of farm income in the Midwest economy.
