What’s keeping ag lenders, like Bell Bank Senior Vice President Lynn Paulson, up at night? “We’re already seeing some lines of credit that we put together in the spring that are already maxed out and we’re having to advance more money for a crop that is still out there,” said Paulson. “I think the big reason for that is a lot of the crop at year-end that they had in inventory is worth a fair amount less than it was at the end of the year.” During the Bell Bank AgViews Live Conference, Paulson highlighted a distinction between younger producers and more established operations. “The older producers may have less debt on their balance sheet so the increase in interest rates doesn’t affect them as much. Established producers, quite frankly, can ride this out.” Listen to the interview.
