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North Central Indiana | That would be evidence that perhaps the truly debt free guys are stagnant. Not that that’s bad, just that they’re stagnant. They could probably get things rolling again fairly easily if they wanted growth/expansion/diversification wise but they’re debt free for a reason. Likely, in my eyes, due to having no succession plans and they can make a ton of money of owned land and equipment. I know a guy like that. No farming kids, he inherited or bought out 90% of his lan from family. So either was always free or a family deal for him. He has the nicest equipment you’ve ever seen, works alone, and enjoys what he does. But stagnant is definitely the word I would use to describe his farm in a business sense. Fine for him, he’s farming until he can’t do the physical side on his own then retiring and letting the high bidder have at it. He knows his goals. Conversely we’ve stayed around 50% of our land leveraged in perpetuity for the last 40 years. Buy more, pay more off, leverage more, buy more, pay more off and keep the cycle going. We don’t use traditional lending or banks at this stage. That’s far too big of a hassle. There are plenty of options looking for large value loans and don’t care about the yearly financials as long as they get their payments like insurance companies and fund managers. It’s worked for us and enables 4 families plus a couple hired guys to make a living now. I know there are people that wouldn’t be comfortable with that philosophy. The guy I was talking about above thinks it’s crazy. But he’s never had a clear successor and it’s worked out really well for him the way he’s been able to operate. At some level I envy him. On another level I’m thrilled that the legacy of our farm has continued until now and will continue on beyond me
Edited by JRCS Farms 12/28/2025 23:44
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How many debt free farmers?
