Resiliency of American Agriculture

Observations from Mid‑South ASFMRA

It was a privilege for the Promised Land Opportunity Zone team to join the 2026 American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA) Mid-South Chapter meeting in Starkville, Mississippi, earlier this month, sharing the exciting potential of rural Opportunity Zone (OZ) investment, alongside farm managers, appraisers, lenders, and Mississippi State University Extension economists. One message came through clearly: this past year and next are going to be challenging for many American farmers. Yet throughout two days of formal and informal conversations with attendees, a message of resilience also became quite clear:  we’ve been here before, and we‘ll get through this downturn as well

American agriculture is a cyclical business in an often volatile world, yet it has remained one of the most durable, long-term engines of the U.S. economy. That resilience has always rested on two pillars: the ingenuity of American farmers and the enduring value of productive land and the food, feed, and fuel it produces.

What We Heard in Starkville

MSU Extension’s market and finance updates clearly identified that net farm income continues to be under pressure, with lower cash receipts and higher expenses squeezing margins across major Mid-South crops.

This pressure extends directly from the combination of lower commodity prices combined with consistently increasing costs of farm inputs eroding farm profitability as reflected in the pro forma below:

On the other hand, the farmland market data continues to tell its enduring story of resilience and stability, even when farm incomes are under pressure. Though cash rents for cropland have moderated slightly, farmland values in Mississippi have held up with projections of modest increases for 2026:

Many of these economic pressures on the farming economy are being driven by broader national and global economic and political forces outside of the agricultural sector’s control. These disruptive periods happen from time to time and are often short to intermediate term impacts from supply and demand imbalances for crop inputs and commodity prices.  Despite these present challenges, the tenor of the group remained one of resilience, rather than resignation.  A shared confidence permeated the room that, through disciplined operational execution, prudent financial management, and bushels of persistence and patience, these cyclical headwinds will once again be managed.

Promised Land:  Shared Confidence in the Resiliency of American Agriculture

Promised Land shares that confidence in the enduring resiliency of American agriculture and in the people who operate within it.  The Mid-South ASFMRA Starkville meeting offered a timely opportunity to underscore our belief that high-quality farmland, operated by capable tenants supported by patient, impact-oriented capital, can deliver on the promise of OZs —for investors and rural communities alike.

We presented our educational materials and investment approach for rural OZs to these professionals who see the market up close. Our presentation, “Opportunity Zone 2.0 Goes Rural,” outlined how the next chapter of the OZ program strengthens the toolkit for investing in rural America—through permanent OZ authorization, higher capital gain deferral basis step‑up for rural OZs (30% versus 10% for non-rural), lower substantial‑improvement thresholds for rural OZs (50% versus 100% for non-rural), and an expanded tax benefits for investments in production and processing assets under the One Big Beautiful Bill. For OZ investors, that means more ways to align impact capital with high‑quality farmland and essential agricultural infrastructure while capturing meaningful OZ tax benefits.

Confidence in American agriculture is grounded in the ag sector’s long‑term results rather than the economic machinations of any single crop year.  The 2026 Mid‑South ASFMRA meeting underscored that, even in this more difficult part of the agricultural cycle, confidence in the resiliency of the American agricultural sector remains well placed. Promised Land is grateful to the Mid‑South ASFMRA Chapter for the opportunity to engage its membership, deepen their awareness of rural OZs, and reinforce Promised Land’s role in delivering purposeful results for rural American communities that have fallen behind economically from the rest of this great Nation. 

The team at Promised Land wishes you all a safe celebration of America’s 250 years of Independence on the 4^th of July.

Author: Mark Jablonski