Excerpt from the Introduction to “Revised & Updated: The Farmer’s Guide to Agricultural Credit.”
Accessing capital is one of the many challenges facing farmers. Agricultural financing is crucial for maintaining production, expanding operations, or trying different enterprises. To maximize profits, more farmers and farm entrepreneurs are turning away from simple commodity crops in favor of more complicated or diversified enterprises. These new business models may be unfamiliar to lenders and the farmer may need to take some extra steps in preparing and presenting his or her business plans. This guide is a tool to help transitioning farmers and farm entrepreneurs take those steps.
This guide is aimed at helping farmers get ready to ask a lender for the financing needed in new and innovative ventures. When used as part of an overall enterprise development strategy, it can help farmers and lenders achieve mutually beneficial results when they sit down to do business.
All good lenders want to see you succeed and build equity; their profession is to invest in your success. But your challenge in seeking financing is to find the right lender for you. This guide can help you seek experienced agricultural lenders to help you solve problems–and avoid them in the first place! You want to find a lender who is knowledgeable and open to learning about new, profitable crops, innovations in farm production, and new ways to market farm goods.
The following one-page fact sheets include key information from “The Revised & Updated: Farmer’s Guide to Agricultural Credit.” Please access them to assess and potentially improve your credit score, initiate the business planning process for your farm enterprise, and prepare yourself to approach a lender.
Fact Sheet: Management Experience & Working with Your Lender
Fact Sheet: How Lenders Analyze Smaller Ag Loans
Fact Sheet: Key Business Performance Measures
Fact Sheet: Communicating Your Application to a Lender