Farmers need new financing options to meet increasing food demands in a volatile economy

LAKELAND, Fla., April 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- What if you had the option to pause your mortgage payment and put that money towards something else?

That's exactly what farmers can do with the AgAmerica Pivot™ program and new, interactive interest-only calculator that will help them determine their savings by switching to an interest-only product.

The problem: Farmers face pressure to increase crop yield to feed a growing population:

• By 2050, the world will need more than 50 percent more food, but cropland is only estimated to increase by 13 percent worldwide during that time. 

While consumers are feeling the pinch at the grocery store, farmers are feeling the pressure to increase productivity during one of the highest inflationary marketssince the late 1980s. To increase productivity, farmers need more cash on hand to invest in their operation. But, as anyone who has purchased a new home in the past two years might know, it's been a particularly hostile environment for refinancing or purchasing new land due to rising rates. This problem is particularly concerning as global food demand increases, but agricultural land diminishes.

Interest-only payment options could be one way to help farmers continue to grow their operation and increase productivity despite external economic pressures.

"We know it is a difficult financial environment—interest rates and inflation are high. We want to provide a solution that uses the equity in the owner's land to put more money in their pocket that they could either put to work or use to pay off less flexible debt. Farmers need more financing options in a volatile market—this way they only pay for the interest on the loan until interest rates decrease."

--Brian Philpot, CEO AgAmerica Lending        

• Frees up cash flow
• Production costs increased nearly 19 percent from 2021 to 2022 and are expected to continue to rise in 2023. Interest-only payment options can help farmers fight rising operation costs by cutting monthly payments and putting more cash back in their pocket
• Invest in upgrades
• Farmers can improve their business productivity by putting their money to work
• Scale operations
• At a time when others have to scale back their operations, farmers can leverage their assets to invest in more farmland

• One married couple used the AgAmerica Pivot program to invest $8 million back into their regenerative vineyard in the heart of wine country.
• A first-generation farmer was able to take full ownership of his farm with a combination of the AgAmerica Pivot program and traditional loan products.
• A dairy farmer experienced periods of low milk prices and needed to pivot his business. He used the AgAmerica Pivot program to keep overhead low while he stood up a cow-calf operation until he was able to refinance to more conventional terms.
• The AgAmerica Pivot program helped save a 6^th generation farm on the precipice of bankruptcy.

Farmers can access an interactive calculator to see how much money they will save with an interest-only loan.

AgAmerica is finding solutions to support farmers, who face increasing adversity and demand for productivity to feed a growing population.

As a trusted financial lender for farmers, ranchers, and landowners across the nation, AgAmerica provides financial resources and counseling to help sustain the future of agriculture and keep farmland in the hands of farmers.

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SOURCE AgAmerica Lending