Disclaimer - my current contract is with the Farm Credit bank system, and they're likely to be the ones to lend to these farmers. Mainly because they understan

Disclaimer - my current contract is with the Farm Credit bank system, and they're likely to be the ones to lend to these farmers. Mainly because they understand agriculture and farmers & ranchers, and the big banks don't. But also because even though we're a government-sponsored entity (the feds guarantee our loans), we are run as a co-op. If we have a good year (i.e. not many losses) we will refund patronage dividends to our customers. And this can be significant - one association alone paid out $160 million last year. These farmers are pretty smart - yes they're taking a risk by borrowing money. But diversification can only help them in the long run. And $2-6 million for new barns isn't a lot in a business where field equipment can easily run a half-million dollars, and wears out/becomes obsolete in 10 or 15 years.