The Rural Voice, 1992-01, Page 26PREVIEW FOR '92:
by Mervyn Erb
What are the number crunchers
down on the farm saying these days?
With the pile of paperwork filled out
over the past ten months, farmers are
painfully aware of their financial
situations.
There was a dramatic increase in
farm foreclosures in November.
Before creditors can foreclose, the
farmer and the farm debt review board
must be notified; usually, these notices
run 20-30 per month. In November,
that figure jumped to 120.
Looking back at the road we've
travelled over the past few years, what
lies ahead? What's the opinion on the
concession roads?
I put that question to Grant Jones
of Kippen, who farms about 400 acres
and keeps a small herd of beef cows
and feeders. Asked how he plans to
spend his newly arrived white bean
tripartite cheque, GRIP cheque and
soon -to -arrive NISA cheque — on a
new tractor? new planter? Caribbean
cruise? — Grant's reply began with
the reminder that there hadn't really
been a 1990:
"It was a whole year we missed,"
he said. "Poor prices, no support, high
costs, inadequate income. 1989 was
the drought: poor crop, no prices.
And 1988 wasn't that great, either."
"But what about new equipment?"
I asked. "4.9 per cent dealer
financing, no payments until June —
you can't beat that kind of a deal."
"You still have to service the
debt," Grant pointed out. "Sure, I've
got some equipment that needs to be
replaced but, this year, it's going to be
repaired instead."
In Grant's view, the wisest course
of action is to pay bills, pay down the
operating loan, pay off term loans and
put aside funds for that poor year that
inevitably comes around every five
years.
I decided to slip up the road and
CHI
In this time of economic uncertainty, farm finances hang in the balance. Despite
low interest rates, caution in spending and borrowing is the prevailing word.
(Photo: Daniel Holm)
visit Ross McBeath. Ross farms
several sections and, with his cohort
Brian Triebner, rents property in
several townships. Was Ross wallow-
ing in recent government support
payments and tripartite money?
"Listen," said Ross, "GRIP and
NISA are here to help, not for
throwing away blindly. I put hard-
earned money into those programs and
I don't intend to throw it away.
"This is the time to pay down
debt," he continued, "not to add to it."
Like Grant, Ross was prepared to
resist buying new equipment, despite
low interest rates. "I've got some old
22 THE RURAL VOICE
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