Monday, November 25, 2013

Tips for Farming Success: Avoid Debt

The world needs food and smart people to grow it, so if you’re seriously considering farming as a career, one thing you should avoid like the plague is debt. Why? In the last fifty years, debt has caused more farms to close than drought, pestilence, and any other acts of nature combined. If there’s one thing the recent global economic meltdown can teach you, it’s that debt can be utterly debilitating. Farmers in large numbers have abandoned their ranches simply because they didn’t have the money to pay the bank when it came a-calling.

This is not saying that debt is wrong. In fact, it offers plenty of advantages. For one thing, it allows people to reach their goals quickly. However, while borrowed money may get you that tractor or new barn your farm will eventually need, experience—the most valuable asset of all—cannot be purchased. Farming is fraught with challenges and uncertainties at every corner, and without any experience in debt, you could be financially handcuffing yourself right from the start.


Debt offers plenty of opportunities for growing a business. The trick is to know when to use it. As your farming experience grows, these opportunities will become much clearer. In the meantime, however, it is imperative that you avoid debt as much as possible.

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