The Ticker

Farming Prospers, Ag Stocks Benefit

By Kirk Shinkle

Posted: September 3, 2008

Farmers are having a good year, thanks to higher commodity prices—enough so that even the soaring costs of fertilizer and other inputs won't keep them from winding up with a good chunk of cash to spare.

Stanford Group analyst Mark McMinimy says net cash farm income (a broad measure of farm revenue minus expenses) will rise 16 percent this year, to a record $101.3 billion.

That, plus record farmland values, means support for farm equipment makers, including Deere & Co. (DE), AGCO (AG), and CNH Global (CNH), and irrigation equipment makers like Lindsay Corp. (LNN).

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The Ticker

The Ticker

Kirk Shinkle is a senior editor at U.S. News. He writes daily about ups and downs in equity markets, sectors and stocks. Formerly, he covered business and economics on both coasts for Investor's Business Daily.

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