Many farmers up here use operating loans. Some don't.
Many buy machinery with payments. Some just write a check.
Some go broke, some flourish.
While having a couple oil wells can certainly help, most hereabouts don't.
This particular farm isn't all that large but it's enough to scrape a pretty good living off of it. No oil wells, no land payments (anymore), no rental payments, no machinery payments and certainly no operating loans.
It's like anyplace else, I think. A little dab of management, a touch of labor, a full sized dose of plain old bull-headedness, a heaping helping of good luck and there's nothing to making a buck or two HERE.