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Strategic use of capital for equipment keeps farmers afloat

RaboBank AgriFinance analyst Sterling Liddell says investing the right amount of capital for equipment will help farmers stay in business while margins remain tight.

“It’s very important that farmers maintain cutting-edge types of technology and equipment to keep moving forward in terms of yield and efficiencies.”

He tells Brownfield many farmers are coming off a period when they’ve amortized or leased equipment on a short-term basis, but haven’t renewed those leases or loans because of financial challenges.

“A lot of farmers are coming to the end of that amortization or lease periods and have a chance to kind of reset some of their finances and look into the future to understand what they can actually carry on that farm in equipment debt.”

Liddell predicts at least five more years of low, but stable, commodity prices.