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Banks Profit While Our Farmers Fail
When banks call in farm loans at the first opportunity, it destroys families, communities, and regional economies.
Jun 14, 2010
Bruce Drinkman is a successful organic dairy farmer who milks 50 cows
with his wife, Mari, near Glenwood City, Wisconsin.
Despite his 34 years of experience, the two-year drop in milk prices
and four years of drought have meant no profits or savings. Last fall
they were denied credit from their bank to purchase seeds to plant 55
acres in grains and corn this spring. To continue farming they cashed in
Mari's retirement account but the farm was placed into foreclosure
around Christmas. After repeated attempts to refinance the farm with
other banks, farm credit services and Farm Service Agency (a division of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA) they were turned down by
all, and did not even attempt to obtain bank credit this spring.
Fortunately Bruce was able to obtain credit from a vendor to buy seed,
and at the end of April he and Mari filed reorganization bankruptcy, the
only means they knew to preserve their farm, home and livelihood.
A recent survey
by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago indicated that 11 percent of
Wisconsin farmers with existing lines of credit may not have credit
extended next year; this is especially significant because of the a 56
percent decline in net farm income in 2009. Dairy farmers have received
prices far below their costs of production for nearly two years. With
eroding equity, many are in immediate danger of losing their farms.
Farmland is so valuable that local (but often not locally owned)
banks call in farm loans at the first opportunity, destroying families,
communities, and regional economies. Farms entering foreclosure are
listed publicly, further devastating owners while notifying speculators
and investors of chances to take advantage of distraught landowners.
Something is askew. As the number of unemployed nationwide remains
around 10 percent and the USDA holds summits on revitalizing rural
America, why are experienced, efficient farmers receiving ridiculously
low prices for their products, forcing family members to seek scarce
off-farm jobs to support them? Why are banks and USDA denying them
access to credit to continue their operations? Are these institutions
conspiring to close farming operations in order to give investors the
opportunity to purchase their land for a fraction of its worth?
A posting on Farmland Forecast, read by
farmers, agribusinesses, investors and speculators interested in
agricultural land, stated that "Midwestern U.S. farmland provides
investors the best opportunity...Farmland may be [cheaper] in other
regions of the world, but...may not have the same soil quality,
transportation infrastructure, or government that supports property
rights." When an elderly couple with no heirs interested in or able to
afford the farm decides to sell; when a younger farmer sells after
incurring too much debt from low prices and rising input costs, there's
probably a corporate investor ready to buy. The land may be flipped to
developers when enough profit can be made or planted in commodity crops
(such as soybeans and corn) used primarily for livestock feed or ethanol
production.
Sadly, many people who would like to engage in farming
remain landless but are forced to rent or accept tenuous land use
arrangements with no guaranteed long-term security. Speculators and
investors only make matters worse by driving the price of farmland out
of their reach, making less land available for the profitable production
of fresh, local, and sustainable produce, eggs, milk, grains, and meat.
It appears that the people who depend on their land for survival and
provide us with food--farmers, ranchers, fishers and laborers--are more
expendable than people sitting behind a desk trading stocks, land, and
communities' futures. The solution to this situation is two-fold. First,
restructure the pricing system to be fair and just for people producing
or harvesting our food. Second, require banks that received Troubled
Asset Relief Funds (TARP) to supply credit to and work with small
businesses (including farms) in their communities. Demand this from your
government. Otherwise, when farmers are forced off their land because
they can't profit from their labor or access credit for annual inputs,
who will provide us the wonderful bounty of summer--watermelon, sweet
corn, BLTs, and strawberries with whipped cream?
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Bruce Drinkman is a successful organic dairy farmer who milks 50 cows
with his wife, Mari, near Glenwood City, Wisconsin.
Despite his 34 years of experience, the two-year drop in milk prices
and four years of drought have meant no profits or savings. Last fall
they were denied credit from their bank to purchase seeds to plant 55
acres in grains and corn this spring. To continue farming they cashed in
Mari's retirement account but the farm was placed into foreclosure
around Christmas. After repeated attempts to refinance the farm with
other banks, farm credit services and Farm Service Agency (a division of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA) they were turned down by
all, and did not even attempt to obtain bank credit this spring.
Fortunately Bruce was able to obtain credit from a vendor to buy seed,
and at the end of April he and Mari filed reorganization bankruptcy, the
only means they knew to preserve their farm, home and livelihood.
A recent survey
by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago indicated that 11 percent of
Wisconsin farmers with existing lines of credit may not have credit
extended next year; this is especially significant because of the a 56
percent decline in net farm income in 2009. Dairy farmers have received
prices far below their costs of production for nearly two years. With
eroding equity, many are in immediate danger of losing their farms.
Farmland is so valuable that local (but often not locally owned)
banks call in farm loans at the first opportunity, destroying families,
communities, and regional economies. Farms entering foreclosure are
listed publicly, further devastating owners while notifying speculators
and investors of chances to take advantage of distraught landowners.
Something is askew. As the number of unemployed nationwide remains
around 10 percent and the USDA holds summits on revitalizing rural
America, why are experienced, efficient farmers receiving ridiculously
low prices for their products, forcing family members to seek scarce
off-farm jobs to support them? Why are banks and USDA denying them
access to credit to continue their operations? Are these institutions
conspiring to close farming operations in order to give investors the
opportunity to purchase their land for a fraction of its worth?
A posting on Farmland Forecast, read by
farmers, agribusinesses, investors and speculators interested in
agricultural land, stated that "Midwestern U.S. farmland provides
investors the best opportunity...Farmland may be [cheaper] in other
regions of the world, but...may not have the same soil quality,
transportation infrastructure, or government that supports property
rights." When an elderly couple with no heirs interested in or able to
afford the farm decides to sell; when a younger farmer sells after
incurring too much debt from low prices and rising input costs, there's
probably a corporate investor ready to buy. The land may be flipped to
developers when enough profit can be made or planted in commodity crops
(such as soybeans and corn) used primarily for livestock feed or ethanol
production.
Sadly, many people who would like to engage in farming
remain landless but are forced to rent or accept tenuous land use
arrangements with no guaranteed long-term security. Speculators and
investors only make matters worse by driving the price of farmland out
of their reach, making less land available for the profitable production
of fresh, local, and sustainable produce, eggs, milk, grains, and meat.
It appears that the people who depend on their land for survival and
provide us with food--farmers, ranchers, fishers and laborers--are more
expendable than people sitting behind a desk trading stocks, land, and
communities' futures. The solution to this situation is two-fold. First,
restructure the pricing system to be fair and just for people producing
or harvesting our food. Second, require banks that received Troubled
Asset Relief Funds (TARP) to supply credit to and work with small
businesses (including farms) in their communities. Demand this from your
government. Otherwise, when farmers are forced off their land because
they can't profit from their labor or access credit for annual inputs,
who will provide us the wonderful bounty of summer--watermelon, sweet
corn, BLTs, and strawberries with whipped cream?
Bruce Drinkman is a successful organic dairy farmer who milks 50 cows
with his wife, Mari, near Glenwood City, Wisconsin.
Despite his 34 years of experience, the two-year drop in milk prices
and four years of drought have meant no profits or savings. Last fall
they were denied credit from their bank to purchase seeds to plant 55
acres in grains and corn this spring. To continue farming they cashed in
Mari's retirement account but the farm was placed into foreclosure
around Christmas. After repeated attempts to refinance the farm with
other banks, farm credit services and Farm Service Agency (a division of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA) they were turned down by
all, and did not even attempt to obtain bank credit this spring.
Fortunately Bruce was able to obtain credit from a vendor to buy seed,
and at the end of April he and Mari filed reorganization bankruptcy, the
only means they knew to preserve their farm, home and livelihood.
A recent survey
by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago indicated that 11 percent of
Wisconsin farmers with existing lines of credit may not have credit
extended next year; this is especially significant because of the a 56
percent decline in net farm income in 2009. Dairy farmers have received
prices far below their costs of production for nearly two years. With
eroding equity, many are in immediate danger of losing their farms.
Farmland is so valuable that local (but often not locally owned)
banks call in farm loans at the first opportunity, destroying families,
communities, and regional economies. Farms entering foreclosure are
listed publicly, further devastating owners while notifying speculators
and investors of chances to take advantage of distraught landowners.
Something is askew. As the number of unemployed nationwide remains
around 10 percent and the USDA holds summits on revitalizing rural
America, why are experienced, efficient farmers receiving ridiculously
low prices for their products, forcing family members to seek scarce
off-farm jobs to support them? Why are banks and USDA denying them
access to credit to continue their operations? Are these institutions
conspiring to close farming operations in order to give investors the
opportunity to purchase their land for a fraction of its worth?
A posting on Farmland Forecast, read by
farmers, agribusinesses, investors and speculators interested in
agricultural land, stated that "Midwestern U.S. farmland provides
investors the best opportunity...Farmland may be [cheaper] in other
regions of the world, but...may not have the same soil quality,
transportation infrastructure, or government that supports property
rights." When an elderly couple with no heirs interested in or able to
afford the farm decides to sell; when a younger farmer sells after
incurring too much debt from low prices and rising input costs, there's
probably a corporate investor ready to buy. The land may be flipped to
developers when enough profit can be made or planted in commodity crops
(such as soybeans and corn) used primarily for livestock feed or ethanol
production.
Sadly, many people who would like to engage in farming
remain landless but are forced to rent or accept tenuous land use
arrangements with no guaranteed long-term security. Speculators and
investors only make matters worse by driving the price of farmland out
of their reach, making less land available for the profitable production
of fresh, local, and sustainable produce, eggs, milk, grains, and meat.
It appears that the people who depend on their land for survival and
provide us with food--farmers, ranchers, fishers and laborers--are more
expendable than people sitting behind a desk trading stocks, land, and
communities' futures. The solution to this situation is two-fold. First,
restructure the pricing system to be fair and just for people producing
or harvesting our food. Second, require banks that received Troubled
Asset Relief Funds (TARP) to supply credit to and work with small
businesses (including farms) in their communities. Demand this from your
government. Otherwise, when farmers are forced off their land because
they can't profit from their labor or access credit for annual inputs,
who will provide us the wonderful bounty of summer--watermelon, sweet
corn, BLTs, and strawberries with whipped cream?
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