Des Moines, Iowa — A northwest Iowa banker says interest rates and commodity prices are squeezing the farm economy. Jeff Plagge served as State Banking Superintendent for four years, retired from that post last December and is now a member of a state panel that forecasts state tax revenue.
In the agri-business sector, Cargill — which makes livestock feed — is laying off five percent of its workforce and John Deere has laid off over 17 hundred workers from its Iowa facilities this year.
Plagge says despite the headwinds, however, the overall economy has been pretty resilient. Plagge has been in Iowa’s banking industry for 44 years and led four different banking organizations, including Northwest Iowa Banking Corporation in Arnolds Park. Plagge retired from that family-owned bank holding company in 2020, shortly after he took over as state banking superintendent. And if Plagge’s last name sounds familiar, it’s probably because his brother Jim led Northwestern Bank in Orange City and Sheldon until 2012.