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.
