After another year of low crop and livestock prices in 2016, and few prospects for a sudden rebound in 2017, Iowa farmers are huddling with their lenders, working to structure their finances for a changed economic environment before the planting season, agricultural lenders said last week.

Farmers are working with lenders to restructure loans to reduce near-term payments and conserve cash flow. They are looking hard at all farm expenses and adjusting them to the current lower-income environment. And they are putting special emphasis on crop insurance and marketing to help reduce risk in today’s volatile markets.

"We are definitely not in any kind of panic mode, but we are certainly seeing more financial stress as we visit with our clients this winter," said Mike Hein, vice president of Liberty Trust & Savings Bank in Durant, who serves on the Iowa Bankers Association (IBA) Ag Committee. "The stress really varies from farm ...